


One Sentence Luigi and Morty Fiction

by tailashake



Category: Luigi's Mansion (Video Games), Luigi's Mansion 3
Genre: 1 Sentence Fiction, Gen, Luigi's Mansion 3 spoilers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-01-31 11:49:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21445753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tailashake/pseuds/tailashake
Summary: One sentence fics featuring Luigi, Morty, and Morty/Luigi, with occasional appearances from the others, in no particular order.
Relationships: Morty (Luigi's Mansion)/Luigi
Comments: 149
Kudos: 258





	1. 1-25

**Author's Note:**

> The prompts used for this are picked from this nice big list of one word prompts from this blog over here!
> 
> https://heclgehog.wordpress.com/2015/12/12/1700-one-word-prompts/

1\. Playful

The excited pup tackles his owner to the floor, showering him with big wet licks, _I love you I love you I love you_, stopping only to rub his head against the hand Luigi put up to shield himself from the messy display of affection, _pet me pet me please play with me_!

2\. Daylight

Realization finally hits Luigi at the crack of dawn when the first rays of morning light bathe him in their comforting glow; he has made it through the long night, safe and sound and surrounded by his loved ones here at the construction site, and all the tension comes rushing out of him in a long exhale of relief.

3\. Shatter

Morty has no idea what did he do to set Wolfgeist off - maybe it was the premature clapping before the song was finished – but now he has the unfortunate honor of being in the eye of the storm, and he loves every second of it, following the destruction raging all around him in awe while he barely manages to dodge the chairs hurtling towards him; the request to pause the outburst so he can go fetch a camera to capture its violent beauty is met with a roar.

4\. Strange

To stand - no_, hover_ over there - looking down at his own remains at the scene of the accident is a strange and unreal experience, and when his spectral brain finally processes what he’s looking at, a burst of warmth overpowers the cold in the pit of his stomach, bubbling up his throat to escape his mouth in the form of a soft chuckle; _not even death could stop him from directing movies_.

5\. Entertainment

Movies, in Morty’s opinion, are the best source of entertainment: there is something about the thought of so many people coming together to condense all that _hard work and talent and music and emotion and… and_… just everything into one movie that tends to move him to tears.

6\. Without

‘_You shouldn’t project feelings onto a tool, Luigi_,’ is what E. Gadd would probably tell him, but he didn’t care; everything about Gooigi’s appearance felt droopy – _tired_ \- after the latest fight, so he decided that his goopy pal deserved to rest a little in the Poltergust, giving the goo-filled tank a gentle pat; he could do without him for a while.

7\. Curiosity

Luigi supposes that it was curiosity that led him to buy the film magazine featuring an article on Morty’s career as he brushed a photo of the director – _alive_ – with his index finger, noting that his eyes still hold the same warmth as they did back in life; Luigi couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the magazine mentioning Morty’s date of death while talking about the film he’s busy working on.

8\. Easy

Luigi is slack-jawed as he watches his brother climb the narrow space between the walls, propelling himself up higher and higher with powerful kicks until he vanishes out of sight, leaving behind his rather wistful looking brother – Mario made it all look so easy.

9\. Set

Morty’s crew had toned it down when it came to startling and pulling pranks on Luigi once the plumber became a regular face on the movie sets, accepting him as one of their own; they still did little scares here and there, because, _hey_, the guy’s reactions were often gold.

10\. Radiance

Luigi’s brilliant smiles never failed to light up the room; every sighting of them populated the nest made by their brethren in Morty’s mind, with a very mischievous habit of popping up in his thoughts to remind him of the warmth that smile radiated.

11\. Welcome

Morty was always welcome to attend Wolfgeist’s performances – he rather enjoyed sharing his music with a fellow appreciator of art – as long as he didn’t hum along, didn’t clap before the show was over, didn’t loudly exclaim ‘oh!’ as he dug out his notebook to write down ideas inspired by his tunes… the list went on, and Morty was able to behave as expected – most of the time.

12\. Safety

The hotel is falling apart, and Morty acts before he thinks, grabbing the reels containing his masterpiece before he dives through the walls, clutching his treasure tight to his chest as he passes a wall after a wall _after a wall after a wall_ until he feels the gentle bite of the cool night-time air, just in time to see the rest of what used to be his home come crumbling down.

13\. Skin

Luigi’s hands feel so warm and firm as they hold Morty’s hand like it’s something precious – the plumber is marvelling at how pliant Morty’s hand is, dipping and denting only to spring up good as new every time Luigi’s thumbs cease their massaging, and he adds just a little more pressure until –_ pop_ – his thumbs are encased in Morty’s ectoplasm, leading to Luigi spluttering apologies, but Morty’s not mad at all; he finds the sensation fascinating.

14\. Adapt

Luigi liked to think that he’d made great strides in overcoming his phasmophobia thanks to the company of Polterpup, only to be proven wrong by his journey through the hotel, but he wasn’t going to let that get him down; with Morty entering his life, he had twice the ghostly support to help uproot his fears.

15\. Physics

“Come, let me show you the set, I’m sure you’ll love it!” Morty floats through the air, grasping the hand of the plumber who’s taking long steps to keep up with the director’s pace before Morty passes through the wall – there’s a loud thud followed by a weak ‘ow’, and Morty realizes that he forgot in his excitement that Luigi can’t pass through solid matter like he does; he’d have to go fetch an ice pack after checking up on his star.

16\. Asleep

People say that the first few nights with a new dog can be difficult, and Luigi agreed, but not for one of the usual reasons: Polterpup just couldn’t help the glow that emanated from his body as he slept peacefully next to his timid owner, his light visible even through Luigi’s closed eyes – he ended up being quite sleep-deprived for a while, but now, _now_ he couldn’t imagine falling asleep without the little pup’s light.

17\. Machine

Luigi lowered the Virtual Boo, blinking once – _twice_ – feeling the beginnings of a headache; E. Gadd was right - something was going to fly off the shelves, and that something was going to be the pain relievers once people got to experience this device.

18\. Embrace

Morty was a very touchy-feely person, not showing the slightest hesitation before he’d start tilting someone’s head this way and that by the chin to inspect their features or when he pulled people into a hug for a job well done; it took time for Luigi to gather enough courage to hug him back, and once he did, neither of them were ready for it to end.

19\. Potatoes

Cooking was something Morty viewed as another form of creating art, which sometimes brought him down to the kitchen to observe Chef Soulfflé’s work, often watching in awe as there were so many dishes one could cook from one ingredient, like, well, let’s take the potato for an example:_ french fries and hash browns and mashed potatoes and wedges and_\-- there were simply too many to list.

20\. Mourning

Sobs and sniffles surrounded Morty at his own funeral, and he turned to look over his shoulder at the guests, confusion etched on his face; he was still there, so why were the people behaving like he was gone just because he’d lost his physical form?

21\. Exhaustion

He was still holding onto the table for dear life – if you could call it that – even when his star had quit his attempt to vacuum him up, oh… _oh_, that was awful – he was out of breath and absolutely exhausted after… after ten seconds or so, what a pitiful number; sitting behind his camera all day hadn’t helped his endurance the slightest.

22\. Fuse

Wolfgeist’s fuse was exceptionally short today – just the scratch of Morty’s pen against the paper was enough to make the pianist’s hand shoot out towards him, stretching to its limit to grab Morty and drag him up to the stage by the sweater to screech at him, punctuating the shouts with hard smashes of his fist on the piano keys; the experience inspired a horror movie that many consider to be one of Morty’s best.

23\. Jump

Morty had never seen anyone jump that high before; it was as if Luigi was flying, trying to reach his fellow stars far above in space – actually, he’d been in space before, hadn’t he?

24\. Rare

It was rare to see Luigi get along so well with a ghost, Mario mused – well, with a ghost that wasn’t Polterpup – while he watched Luigi having a very animated conversation with the director ghost, eyes sparkling with joy as they talked about something, too far away for Mario to hear clearly; whatever it was, Luigi was happy, and so was Mario.

25\. Prison

_This wasn’t bad at all_, Morty thought, _it’s actually quite nice, peaceful even_ – he stared at the ceiling of the dome he was sitting under, his mind already busy with new movie ideas while his friends and colleagues were floating around their own domes, trying to find a way out.


	2. 26-50

26\. Betrayal

Morty was clutching the table with what little strength he had, too terrified to ask his star ‘_why_?’ as the powerful suction was intent on dragging him into the vacuum, having already devoured the curl of his tail, pulling more and more of him into its depths until he lost his grip on the worn wood with a panicked cry.

27\. Colorful

Luigi stood right at the center of DJ Phantasmagloria’s rebuilt stage, the vibrant tiles flashing beneath his feet as he felt the of rhythm of her music thrumming through him like a second heart beat, all too aware of the fact that everyone was looking at him, and there was only one thing he could do – he closed his eyes, allowing the tunes to guide his limbs while repeating the mantra ‘_it’s just me and the music, there’s nobody else here_’ to himself; _it worked_.

28\. Vulnerable

“Oh, hang on, it’s not turning on, I think I’ll have to...” Luigi mutters to himself, fiddling with the flashlight, flicking the switch over and over again until it crackles to life with a sharp hum, the beam piercing through the darkness of the room and Morty, exposing the startled director’s heart to Luigi; Morty scrambles to shove it back in before Luigi could figure out why his dumbfounded stare is making its pulse grow frantic

29\. Visible

Sometimes Morty would get too lost in thoughts to pay attention to his surroundings and himself, fading out of sight without registering it; this often led to him unintentionally startling Luigi whenever he’d pop back into view with a joyous shout after coming up with a brilliant idea for a new flick.

30\. Dry

The water’s nice and warm at the new pool, and Johnny turns out to be quite a chill guy now that he isn’t blasting water at anyone - Luigi waves at Clem, floating just a little further away from the plumber and the swimmer on his pool toy, asking the mechanic to join them in the water; “I don’ like gettin’ wet,” comes his gruff reply and when Luigi asks him if ghosts can even get wet, he repeats his answer of “I don’ like gettin’ wet” before yanking the bill of his cap down for a bit of shut-eye.

31\. Shout

_It was amazing_, Morty mused while enjoying the performance as the lone member of audience, how someone as prim and proper as Wolfgeist, who practically radiated serenity at his calmest moments, could be capable of such anger and _volume_; just last week a mischievous ghost had set off a bomb in the middle of a concert – Amadeus’ screams were heard all the way to the eight floor.

32\. Fragile

Despite being busy with the editing, Morty would still go back to the footage of his crew member being sucked up, watching it once and twice and _oh, a third time wouldn’t hurt_; there was something frightening and – _dare he say_ – exciting about concept of ghost bodies being susceptible to a _vacuum_ out of all things.

33\. Reflection

Looking at Gooigi was like looking in a mirror – _a green, gooey mirror_ – and Luigi hoped that was as far as their similarities went; he wouldn’t want anyone to carry the same anxious burden as he did.

34\. Time

The night felt like it kept stretching on and on, and he could’ve sworn that every grandfather clock he caught a glimpse of were all stuck at the same time; how long had he been exploring the hotel?

35\. Laughter

Morty adored those moments whenever his beloved star would forget about his insecurities and just laugh at something he found amusing, the sound warm and loud without any care in the world; Luigi was too distracted by pure joy to even worry about what others would think.

36\. Window

It didn’t take long for Polterpup to develop a gut feeling that told him his owner would be home soon; when the time was close, he’d hop on the window skill, face planted against the window, _soon soon soon_, and there he was; Polterpup would start barking and wagging his tail like he hadn’t seen Luigi in ages before phasing through the window and running to meet up with his approaching owner – he began sprinting even faster when Luigi opened his arms wide.

37\. Cold

The director’s hands were cool, but not uncomfortably so; the temperature was akin to the fair weather days when the breeze was just right - not too cold – possessing the perfect amount of chill – Morty would be lying if he said he’d never wished he could’ve been a fire ghost, but he immediately forgot all about that wish every time Luigi leaned into that cool touch, eyes slipping shut to enjoy the soothing sensation.

38\. Transformation

When Wolfgeist saw Luigi for the first time since that night at the mansion, he immediately headed towards the nervous plumber as he rolled his sleeve up, the destruction of his piano still fresh in his mind; Morty rushed over to the pianist to put a stop to it, unrolling Amadeus’ sleeve with a firm tug while reminding him that _everything was fine, there was no need to fight_ – allowing Wolfgeist to give in to his rage would only unleash a beast that was very capable of tearing the room apart within seconds.

39\. Lost

He had managed to make himself cry – _good job, Luigi_ – trembling as he thought back to his adventure at the hotel: what if one day Mario and their friends got imprisoned in another painting, and what if it’d been pure luck that his previous adventures had been successful, and he’d fail to save them next time?

40\. Unsettling

“He had a gallery of _what_?!” Morty’s eyes grew wide when Luigi told him about ghost portrait collection that the funny little man running the hotel used to have - how macabre, how horrifying, how… _how inspiring_: now _there_ was a good premise for a horror film.

41\. Novels

Reading horror stories was a nice, safe way for Luigi to work on his fear of ghosts but after so many books that ended with a ghost finding peace and leaving the world of the living, be began to worry about Morty, a lot; _what if he directed a movie that was so good he could never make anything better than it, finding the power to move on, never to be seen again_?

42\. Love

_What he felt was more than friendship, more than a passing crush_, Luigi fidgeted, his face growing ridiculously warm with Morty’s hand on his shoulder as the director praised him for his wonderful performance; he was sure what he felt was love, and it was a real struggle to stop himself from covering the hand on his shoulder with his own.

43\. Stable

This was good, very good: things had been going so well that Morty was able to have both Luigi and Wolfgeist around the same table, drinking tea without the pianist making any attempts to lunge at Luigi, and Morty would’ve considered it to be a success if Luigi hadn’t disturbed the delicate balance of peace by apologizing for the destruction of Amadeus’ piano, reminding Amadeus of why exactly he’d been mad at the plumber in the first place; Morty had to yank Luigi out of the way of the entire tea set – _pot and all_ – zipping through the air towards him.

44\. Holding

They were sitting at the opposite sides of the table, going through their own copies of the script to prepare for the shooting when Luigi stopped to stare at the arm Morty had propped up on the table, the hand making gestures that only made sense to the director who was deeply immersed in imagining the script’s scenes in his head; right there and then Luigi decided to be brave and reach out, lacing his fingers together with Morty’s, his warm thumb massaging circles into the cool ectoplasm – he’d never heard the director stutter before, and he decided he loved the sound.

45\. Ball

Luigi picked up the cue ball from the billiards table, turning it around in his hands, thinking of a certain lean poolshark: _Slim would’ve loved this place_.

46\. Weird

“Wow, nice! Is it his before death or posthumous filmography?” a toad asks after Luigi told him about watching one of Morty’s films a while ago, and the question makes him stop for a moment - _he’s never heard of anyone’s films being categorized that way_ – before answering “I don’t know, it’s, um, the one with the boxer,” and with a nod the toad says “ah, before death, then”.

47\. Apologies

“It doesn’t make sense to be angry at Luigi over the piano,” Morty started, “it would’ve gone...” he pauses to spread his arms wide to mimic an explosion with his hands and making the appropriate sound with his mouth, “…when the hotel collapsed, anyway” - Wolfgeist considered Morty’s point for a while, tension and anger melting away as he visibly relaxed before offering his hand to Luigi with a ghost of a smile, “I presume you’ll accept my apology?”

48\. Eyes

Morty’s eyes may’ve been pure yellow scleras without any pupils or irises to make it easier to see where he was looking at, but somehow Luigi knew – he could _feel_ it when the director looked at him, he could_ tell_ when Morty would take a quick glance at him while giving instructions to the rest of the crew; there was this certain feeling he’d get whenever it happened, and he didn’t know how to describe it any other way besides ‘_nice _’.

49\. Change

What Morty was wearing that day instead of his usual black sweater was something that could be classified as a hideous holiday sweater, and something was off about it: it had a very solid look to it compared to the rest of him - “Oh, that? The longer I wear it, the more transparent it’ll become!” Morty explained with an excited grin to the curious plumber.

50\. Alive

Luigi got along very well with the ghosts at the construction site, laughing at their jokes during the lunch breaks, his gaze alternating between the princess feeding his brother to the right of him and the ghosts sitting to the left of him, suddenly wondering: what was it that scared him about ghosts if ghosts were technically still alive, having only lost their corporeal forms?


	3. 51-75

51\. Dress

All decked out in a floaty dress and a wavy wig that reached his waist, Luigi was barely recognizable; each clack of his heels on the asphalt oozed with confidence, holding the crew captivated until a shout of ‘_cut!_’ broke the spell – Morty asked him later what had inspired such a powerful performance and with hands shaky from the praise, Luigi pulled down the face mask that hid his mustache to answer with a small voice, “I… um, I’ve had experience with this sort of thing.”

52\. Daisy

The princess of Sarasaland had dragged Luigi away from Morty’s earshot for what she had called ‘a little chat’; the director watched Daisy hold Luigi’s hand in both of hers, saying something that made his star fidget and blush as she nodded towards Morty, and Luigi looked over his shoulder at the director with an expression that seemed nervous – jealousy had no place in Morty’s heart, so if she made his star happy, then that’s all that mattered to him.

53\. Moon

“Luigi, my boy, I’d like to take a few of the ghosts here to Evershade Valley and see if the Dark Moon affects them in any way. There might be a chance to get some good research material out of--” before E. Gadd’s able to finish his sentence, Luigi interrupts him with a surprisingly firm ‘no’ - to use the occupants of the hotel as test subjects in something like that didn’t feel right.

54\. Denim

Clem scrutinized the plumber before him with narrowed eyes and a hand on his chin, muttering to himself, and just as Luigi was about to ask him whether he’d done something wrong, Clem’s expression brightened in a flash; “Ya know, ye can’t be all that bad if yer able to appreciate denim as much as I do,” Clem grinned and patted Luigi on the chest with the back of his hand.

55\. Anger

“A movie?! You shot a movie with Luigi?!” Hellen shrieked at Morty, “I had given you all very clear instructions to stop him, and what do you do? You go ahead and put him in your silly little film, do you have any idea--” and at that point Morty just tuned it out, simply nodding and shrugging here and there between Hellen’s screaming, his thoughts too occupied by what he could only call an enormous shrine of worship that sat outside her office; he’d have to ask whether she would mind him shooting a film inspired by her obsession after she’s done yelling.

56\. Surprise

When Luigi heard the doorbell, he expected to find Mario waiting on the other side of the door; he rarely got other visitors besides his brother, already preparing to greet him as he opened the door, the words dying in his throat when he saw that… _rather nice_ director ghost from the hotel at his doorstep - “Oh, my shining star, would it be too much if I asked you to be part of my next masterpiece?” Morty held out the thick script towards the plumber, who proceeded to accept the offering with a shy smile.

57\. Fine

“Oh, no, no, my boy, I wouldn’t be dragging them to the valley against their will, of course not! I was thinking of asking for volunteers. That should be fine, don’t you think?” now that Luigi mulled over the idea, it didn’t sound all that bad; it sounded pretty good, actually, as long as E. Gadd was able to be honest with the ghosts about the specifics of his research.

58\. Work

Luigi couldn’t help but feel a little bad as he looked at the bellhop ghost sitting at the other side of the lobby - Steward was reclining in his chair, twiddling his thumbs, his eyes sparkling with desperate hope each time a noise came from the front doors, only to fade back to boredom whenever it turned out to be one of their own inhabitants; this new hotel just lacked the same workload as the previous one, and the ghost missed that.

59\. Food

“Hm? Oh, I don’t require sustainment to keep these grand ideas flowing like a raging river,” Morty told the plumber who’d asked the hard-working director to take a break and get something to eat, and when given a confused look, he continued with “Food isn’t a necessity for ghosts, Luigi, some just find it fun to eat.”

60\. Spiders

Luigi didn’t even bat an eye when he opened the basement cabinet and spiders came pouring out like a dense rain cloud, dispersing across the floor, scuttering over and past Luigi’s feet; giving the softest sigh, he fetched the broom and began sweeping the little critters into a tidy pile, unbothered – he’d seen way bigger ones back at the hotel.

61\. Music

“You’re a musician? Oh, that’s fantastic!” Morty was shaking the hand of their newest arrival –_ Wolfgeist_, there was something familiar about the name, “I would love it if I could get you to play some pieces for my… my…” the director leaned close enough that his big nose poked Wolfgeist’s, “…Wait, wait! I do know you! You’ve played the piano for a few of my movie scores before, back when we were both alive and--” that was all he got to say before Amadeus’ expression turned livid, and the next thing he knew, he was rushing out of the auditorium with a screaming and clattering piano hot on his heels; sometimes Morty forgot that not all ghosts liked to be reminded of their mortal lives.

62\. Weak

“W-what happened?!” Luigi rushed over when he saw Johnny enter the studio with the limp form of Morty in his arms, the director’s breath labored despite having no need for it; “I can appreciate that he wants to, you know, improve his endurance, but this dude just... just straight up sank to the bottom of the pool after three backstrokes, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Johnny shook his head, passing Morty on to Luigi who managed not to stumble under the – _admittedly light_\- weight, “I don’t think it’s gonna work out, dude.”

63\. Grave

The cold wind that blew through the graveyard made Morty sway slightly in place as he kept his eyes fixed on his own grave – Luigi couldn’t recall ever having seen the director this quiet; he didn’t know what he was expecting to hear when Morty finally turned to face him after a long period of silence, but it certainly wasn’t “Is it considered to be outrageous to use your own skeleton as a prop?”

64\. Worry

“Wolfgeist volunteered for the Evershade Valley trip,” E. Gadd clasped his hands together, doing a small twirl, “this is perfect, I can’t think of a more fitting ghost for it! It’s-- _my boy, what’s with that expression_? Lighten up a little, it’ll be fine!” despite the professor’s assurance, Luigi couldn’t stop grimacing; this research trip could turn out to be catastrophic.

65\. Yourself

Luigi decided that a movie night was a great idea now that E. Gadd had brought Gooigi to his place for the weekend (“_Letting him spend time with you seems to help him develop faster, Luigi_”), so he guided Gooigi over to the shelf that contained his movie collection with a few scary ones from Daisy, asking his doppelganger to pick a movie but Gooigi only stared at him - “No, I’m not going to choose one, I want you to do it, this weekend is all about you and what you want to do, and I’m sure that you’ll pick a good one. Go on, you can do it!” Luigi cheered him on with a pat to the back that made Gooigi wobble; it didn’t take long for Gooigi to decide on a flick, making Luigi go pale by presenting him with a movie many had called one of the scariest of the decade.

66\. Doughnuts

The plumber nibbled on his croissant while waiting for Kruller to come get the doughnut he’d brought for him as a peace offering; the security guard in question was clinging to the door frame like a frightened animal, tilting his head from Luigi to the doughnut plate next to man and then back to Luigi, trembling – Luigi didn’t know how to feel about the fact that _a ghost_ was scared of him.

67\. Rumors

Morty apologized to Luigi for the gossip magazine that ran a piece titled ‘_Famous Ghost Director’s Secret Relationship with a HUMAN!!_’, it hadn’t been the first time it had happened to the director, the magazines went wild with their articles every time their paparazzis caught Morty being himself on the sets – the lack of personal space was in his nature, guiding him to instruct and lead his actors sometimes with a hand on their shoulder and sometimes by their hands, unintentionally giving the impression of something romantic; Luigi wished it was a real relationship as he stared at the photos of them laughing and holding hands in the article.

68\. Fan

“I love your movies!” the enthusiastic Toad screeched, hopping up and down while Luigi (blushing so heavily he felt like he running a fever) was writing a signature for him, “Your screams are the best I’ve heard, they sound so authentic!” Luigi didn’t have the heart to tell the Toad that those screams were all genuine; Morty’s crew was very talented when it came to thoroughly scaring him for the sake of art. 

69\. Travel

Luigi insisted on accompanying E. Gadd and Wolfgeist to Evershade Valley; he won’t let any harm come to the professor, especially if that harm had the chance to start with a W and end with a T, so far everything was good, E. Gadd was driving while Luigi and Wolfgeist (“_I voluntereed so I could seek inspiration in the valley_”) were crammed in the small trailer the car towed - the pianist sat still with a perfect posture while Luigi tumbled around every time they went through bumpy roads.

70\. Coffee

It was easy for Polterpup to track down Gooigi to play with his owner’s gooey doppelganger; all he had to do was follow the scent of coffee – _why he smelled like that_, he had no clue, but it made him easy to find, although sometimes his nose led him to the coffeemakers and ghosts who were about to enjoy their coffee before finding themselves with a lapful of eager pup who had decided they’d be a perfect playmate whenever he couldn’t find Gooigi.

71\. Drown

Laying here at the bottom of the pool, Morty got to gaze up at the… _oh_, rather beautiful glimmer of the water, each move of the swimmers sending ripples throughout the pool’s surface, the overhead lights looming above it all like the sun of an underwater planet; inspiration urged him to frame the view with his fingers – it was a good thing he didn’t need to breathe.

72\. Moonlight

Wolfgeist seemed captivated by the Dark Moon, staring up at the crystal high above in the sky with an expression so relaxed it unnerved Luigi – “This is good, Luigi, really good, it’s time for a little test,” E. Gadd waddled over to Amadeus, clearing his throat, ignoring Luigi waving his hands and pleading him with frantic _‘no, no, no, please no,’_ to not go ahead with what he was about to do.

73\. Calm

“...And that’s why I think Gloomswell’s works are some of the worst compositions made in the history of music,” E. Gadd finished thoroughly tearing apart just about every classical musician, with Wolfgeist having listened to him in complete silence for the past ten minutes while Luigi was on the verge of heart attack, waiting for the worst; what followed was a surprisingly elegant shrug of shoulders - “I respect your opinions, although I do not share any of them,” and with that, Wolfgeist turned his attention back to the Dark Moon.

74\. Painting

The new hotel was decorated with gorgeous paintings of ghosts in various positions, and knowing about E. Gadd’s past, they stirred up quite a lot of rumors that began circulating all throughout the building until Luigi caught wind of them: “No, no, none of these paintings have actual ghosts trapped in them…” the plumber trailed off, now lost in thought as well, “...I think.”

75\. Back

All three of them had resumed their ordinary lives almost immediately upon returning to the hotel: E. Gadd began going through his research, Wolfgeist was busy composing tunes inspired by the gloomy sights of the valley, and Luigi had his head resting on Morty’s lap while the director was ruffling the shaken man’s hair to help him calm down - “He wouldn’t stop, the professor was doing everything he could think of to rile up Wolfgeist, I kept on waiting for him to… to snap, it was awful--”


	4. 76-100

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More morbid sentences in this one : ) Enjoy!

76\. Tail

The studio was positively buzzing with gossip after one of the crew members had seen the director wrap his tail around Luigi’s hand, stroking it with the wisp of the tip while preparing for a shoot; to have a ghost wrap their tail around another’s was considered a sign of trust – _friendship_ \- and for some it signified a romantic relationship, but to have that gesture done to a human meant… the ghosts scratched their heads, it meant that… they were together, _right_?

77\. Piano

Wolfgeist’s overwhelming rage granted him more than enough energy to rip himself free from the Poltergust’s suction; with the plumber thrown off balance by his escape, Wolfgeist used the opportunity to dive into the safety of his piano back first, granting Luigi a glimpse of his expression - all of that tension drained out of his features, a moment of peace before the lid came crashing down, giving Luigi an unnerving idea of how the pianist had met his demise.

78\. Breathing

There are times when Luigi would wake up at night in Morty’s arms, and he would watch the director sleep (so peaceful); although he could feel the steady beat of Morty’s heart against his chest, the lack of breathing made a voice deep inside Luigi scream at him, ‘_Something is wrong, it’s wrong, he should be breathing_’ - he was fully aware that ghosts didn’t need to breathe, but a part of him still found it hard to accept the fact.

79\. Buttons

Morty wasn’t born to-- _no_, he didn’t _die_ to be a fighter, his interests lay in the noble art of directing movies, not in… in… hurting someone to keep this – _oh, rather pretty_ – elevator button safe; “In that case, you better keep it out of his reach,” Hellen had snapped at him before shoving him out of her office, “that should be simple enough if you’re unable to fight, so don’t mess it up.”

80\. Rage

“Were his outbursts this bad back when he was, um… uh, alive?” Luigi whispered to Morty as the two of them watched Wolfgeist having a very heated argument with Clem over ‘daring to bring a banjo to my auditorium’; there was the slightest bit of hesitation on Morty’s part when it came to how to explain it, and what he’d decided on was “Not at all, but when you’re dead, you don’t have to worry about having another… you know,” _heart attack_, Luigi presumed based on Morty’s dramatic slap of hands over his chest followed by a tossed back head and groan, “so he’s not watching his temper anymore.”

81\. Classic

Luigi had a little guilty pleasure he enjoyed whenever he was watching the classics with Morty; the ghost was so absorbed in the films that he didn’t pay attention to anything else around him, which Luigi took the advantage of by observing Morty – his little reactions, the way he mouthed dialogue he’d learned by heart, those tears shining at the corners of his eyes at the buildup of an emotional scene… Luigi knew he should’ve focused on the film, but his head just _happened_ to keep on turning towards director.

82\. Experience

“You had smashed and slammed the souls of my friends and colleagues, _the very essences_ of their beings all over floors and walls and even the furniture, and you’ve excluded me from all of that horror? Oh, _my bright star_, I _beg_ of you, let me take part in the experience that has united the others, allow me to know what they’ve gone through! I wish to know _how_ it feels to be consumed by the cold void!” no matter how much Morty begged and pleaded, Luigi refused to strap on the Poltergust and capture Morty.

83\. Finish

_Oh, out of all the places to have_… Wolfgeist heaved a sigh, casting an exasperated glance at the audience before returning his focus on his slumped over body - what a hassle it is to have died in the middle of a performance, but that was fine, he could still finish it like this; Wolfgeist stretched his fingers, pausing for a second to admire how _long_ they were in this form, and he calmly moved his remains’ hands out of the way to resume filling the auditorium with delicate melodies.

84\. Approval

“We haven’t had the chance to talk, but you’re Luigi’s older brother, right? Isn’t he _amazing_?” Morty gave Mario a brisk handshake, “That man, oh, that man! To witness that passion on the set is--” the director let go of Mario to express the abstract shapes of his feelings about Luigi’s talents through wild gestures (“_Oh, and that personality!_") as he gushed over the timid man; watching the excited ghost tugged the corners of Mario’s mouth into a warm smile – it always filled him with so much joy to know there are others out there who can see how _good_ his brother is.

85\. Sleep

Despite his apprehension, Luigi was helping E. Gadd hang ghost portraits onto the walls of the professor’s room in the new hotel (“_Much obliged, Luigi!_”), meeting the E. Gadd’s eyes here and there, a silent question about the origins of them until the professor’s smile diminished; “These are all real ghosts, my boy. Some fellows get tired of afterlife after, _heh_, a while, and the rest…” Elvin rubbed the back of his neck, “...let’s just say they can’t stand the thought of being a ghost. This is the closest thing to being at rest for them.”

86\. Tag

Polterpup poked his little nose at Gooigi’s slimy hand - _you’re it come on come on catch me_ \- turning with a happy bark to bolt down the hallway, _this is fun fun fun_, but near the end he skidded to a halt when he couldn’t hear any footsteps to look behind him, and there Gooigi was, still at the same spot at the other end of the hall; the pup whined – _how could he teach Gooigi the game?_

87\. Drive

Running a hotel full of ghosts meant that E. Gadd had plenty of ghosts to interview and use for his tests, which sometimes led to him knocking on someone’s door at late times, like he was doing right now, interrupting Clem and Luigi’s poker game that had been going on for hours to ask-- “Ya wanna know if ghosts can drive a car? Yeah, not possible when ye’ve got one of_ these_ in place of legs,” Clem pointed at his waving tail, “but we can possess one of them vehicles, so… technically we can drive,_ I think_…?”

88\. Block

They’d been content with hand-holding until one day Luigi – _after turning more and more red until he was finally able to say it_ – suggested a kiss, and Morty was happy to try it with his star, but they ran into quite a dilemma right away, as it tends to happen when you’ve got two persons with big noses trying to kiss each other; after plenty of pokes in the eyes and other parts of the face, they finally figured that a lot of head tilting had to be done to finally press their lips together –_ it was worth it_.

89\. Wish

Here, in the safety of his own home, resting with his back against Morty while Polterpup was happily snoozing away in the plumber’s lap, Luigi thought to himself, ‘When I die, I wouldn’t mind it at all if I could come back as a ghost.”

90\. Learn

Morty was mainly a film director, but sometimes he also had to be the film editor, the prop maker, the special effects artist… it was hard to find ghosts who had the skills he was seeking, and the humans who had the talents weren’t keen on working with ghosts; it was a good thing he had lots of time to learn new skills in afterlife.

91\. Fish

A glass of water was all Luigi wanted, but nothing would come out no matter how much he tried to turn on the faucet – that’s odd, it was working just fine a while ago, maybe one more try w-- a loud bang accompanied the strong jet of water that shot out of the faucet, and a split second later _a fish_ smacked right into Luigi’s face, the sound of the wet impact cutting through the air; _they had fixed the plumbing, so how_…?

92\. Dinosaur

Before any rebuilding could be done, they had to go deal with the remains of the old hotel, keeping everything that had survived the collapse and getting rid of the debris; when Luigi unearthed the dinosaur bones, a certain caveman ghost waved his club around in the air and hollered cheers belonging to a long-extinct language.

93\. Quickly

Morty’s eyes were closed to better focus on the vivid images his mind was inspired to create by Wolfgeist’s ever so talented playing, _fantastic_; but then his eyes snapped open when he remembered that Luigi had been invited too, noticing that the plumber was about to clap right at the pause in the middle of the song – _no no no it wasn’t over yet_! - and he leapt out of his seat to grab Luigi’s hands, barely managing to prevent a catastrophe by the name of Wolfgeist from happening.

94\. Human

The ghosts didn’t mind light fixtures dropping from the ceiling and props falling over as they didn’t present any danger to them, but now that there was _a human_ in the studio, they had to rush around to save Luigi from hazards caused by their own carelessness – it was an excellent reason to practice good workplace safety.

95\. Family

Luigi had two families: one in Mushroom Kingdom, which was composed of Mario, Polterpup, the princess, Yoshi, and too many Toads to count; then there was the second one in the hotel built over where the Last Resort used to be, composed of one… three… seven… ten… fifteen.. well, many, many, _many_ ghosts and a little professor.

96\. Loss

All of the ghosts got angry every once in a while, but not enough to work themselves into destructive rage as it led to the rational thinking going out of the window, followed by the loss of control over the soul’s form; Morty had watched it happen to Amadeus many times, cringing as the pianist’s arms would stretch to unnatural lengths until his anger would wear him out.

97\. Interview

“An interview, professor?” Morty peered over his script at E. Gadd, looking thoughtful for a moment, “How about an interview _for_ an interview?” Morty’s eyes were glowing even brighter than they usually did when he ditched the script in favor of a notepad and pen; “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know in exchange for tales of your grand achievements – I have a hunch they’ll be _very_ inspirational!”

98\. Green

If he were to become a ghost upon death, what color would he be, Luigi thought -_ green, he’d love to be green_; most would consider it to be a morbid subject to think about, but Luigi supposed that hanging around ghosts for such a long time made it easier for him to ponder about it.

99\. Glasses

“You’re not… you’re not going to flash me if I take these off…?” Kruller fiddled with the hinges of his sunglasses, biting at his lower lip, his tense posture relaxing when Luigi held his hands up to prove he had nothing to blind him with; he took a seat and set his glasses aside, unable to hold back a happy little ‘oh’ when Luigi pushed a muffin plate towards him with a smile.

100\. Boyfriend

“They’re together, _right_? I’ve seen Luigi kiss him on the cheek,” a crew member pointed out, and his co-worker shrugged, shaking his head, “that’s just him being Italian, it’s not meant to be taken that way”; a third ghost made a noise that made the other two turn around to see what he was squeaking at, just in time to witness Morty and Luigi breaking a kiss - “That was on the mouth. So they are…?” “_Yeah_.”


	5. 101-125

101\. Ladder

“You found my keys? Dr. Potter, thank y--” before Luigi could finish his sentence, the gardener drew his arm back and sent the keys sailing through the air with a surprisingly strong throw, and Luigi could only watch helplessly as the keys vanished into an overgrown tree with a rustle; “There,” Potter grunted, shoving a very ancient looking ladder into Luigi’s hands, “you’re welcome.” - Luigi got the impression that _maybe_ the doctor was still bitter over being captured back then.

102\. Mask

“I’ve always enjoyed acting,” Luigi fiddled with his gloves, pinching and pulling at the material, his voice almost a whisper, “I… I like that I don’t have to be _me_”; Morty’s chest felt too tight all of a sudden.

103\. New

Nothing from Morty’s floor had made it through the hotel’s destruction intact: all of those awards, director’s cuts, sets and unfinished movies were gone but Morty didn’t mourn for them, breaking into a wide smile the plumber didn’t expect before taking Luigi’s hands into his, “This is a new beginning for me, a fresh page in my directing history, and I’m elated that I get to share that journey with you.” - Morty’s words sent his heart racing, and he didn’t understand _why_ as he grasped those gentle hands back.

104\. Heavy

E. Gadd was giddy with excitement, tapping his fingertips together while eyeing Kruller who was trying on new sunglasses at the corner of the gift shop; “That one over there, Luigi. I must know what his spectral mass is, it must be a _huge_ number,” the professor pointed at the stout ghost, and Luigi was quick to nudge his arm down, drawing a breath through his teeth, _“Don’t_”.

105\. Dramatic

“Oh, whatever am I going to do now, Amadeus?” Morty had draped himself over the piano, his posture reminiscent of a high class woman on a fainting couch – _complete with the back of hand over his eyes_ – as he swallowed back a sob, “How could I fail to notice the crew member was in the shot? There’s nothing I can do about it now, the film’s already in theaters! I’m a failure, Amadeus!”; Wolfgeist paused to pinch the bridge of his nose with a groan, “Both your actors and crew members look exactly the same, Morty. The audience won’t notice it,” and he was _right_.

106\. Longing

Luigi had a room of his own he’d stay at whenever he was visiting the hotel, one which Gooigi would sometimes sneak into through the gap below the door when Luigi had returned home – _'It’s my other home', Luigi had once said_ – to lie on the bed, unmoving, staring at the ceiling while so many thoughts buzzed throughout his mass; being there helped whenever he would miss Luigi – it was okay for him to feel that way, wasn’t it…?

107\. Shark

Captain Fishook’s rebuilt bar in his lounge had attracted many that had missed the usual wares he’d served before the building went down; Clem nudged Luigi with his elbow, “Psst, take a gander at ‘em,” red drink sloshed over the rim of the glass Clem used to gesture towards the shark, “he’s tryin’ to open it with his hook again.” - Fishook was visibly growing more agitated the more he scraped away at a bottle’s screw cap, and when Luigi offered to open it for him, he answered with a loud snap of his jaws that made the plumber fall over with a yelp.

108\. Protect

Morty had seen Luigi in action and heard stories of his great adventures from his shining star himself and the little professor, and he was knew very well that Luigi was more than capable of defending himself, but the thought that Luigi was _a human_ kept gnawing away at him because it filled him with such worry – ghosts could shrug off virtually anything but humans were so _vulnerable_, Luigi was strong but _vulnerable_ and… and… Luigi’s worried voice snaps him out of the loop of distressing thoughts, asking the director whether he’s alright; Morty manages a shaky nod as he curls his tail around Luigi to pull him into a tight embrace.

109\. Garden

Although Dr. Potter was interested in the peculiar plant nestled in the pot the plumber was trying to offer to him _(“It’s a Piranha Plant, I thought it might like living in your garden”_), Potter refused to accept anything from someone who went through his floor with a buzzsaw; but when that plant began trying to nip and bite and nibble Luigi’s fingers and nose despite his pleads to stop, Potter changed his mind, nabbing the plant from Luigi with a mumble that vaguely sounded like “thanks” - whoever and whatever shared his dislike of Luigi were _friends_ of his.

110\. Beauty

“Hang on, I don’t think you’ve met the missus yet, have ya? Just wait there and I’ll go fetch ‘er,” Clem dove through the floor grating, emerging a few moments later after what sounded like metal and trash being tossed around (“why would I wanna keep this place clean, Luigi?) with a _very_ familiar broom adorned with a bucket that had a crudely doodled face on it; Clem cradled the thing in his arms, running his fingers through the _actual_ mop of hair, “Ain’t she a beaut, Luigi? Some brute knocked her over the night I met ya, but she’s doin’ fine now.” - Luigi had a hard time forcing his face into some semblance of innocence as he said “O-oh, that’s… that’s just awful, I hope you catch that.. that awful crook.”

111\. True

“That bravery you showed to rescue your brother from that mansion, and all those dangers you faced… Luigi, I believe it would make for a good horror film with tender feelings, I can _feel_ it in my gut,” Luigi followed the sweep of Morty’s hand to the soft pale light pulsing in the director’s stomach, “Imagine it: ‘Luigi’s Mansion, based on a true story’ “.

112\. Rhythm

Wolfgeist showed no interest in Luigi from his dome-shaped prison, too focused on something only he seemed to hear, his slender hands swaying from side to side to the rhythm of his private tune; it kind of… looked like he was conducting an orchestra, or maybe he was just… jamming along to what sounded like pure silence to Luigi, he didn’t know, he _really_ didn’t.

113\. Magic

The triplets went into a huddle to discuss Morty’s request of asking for their aid in his next movie, softly giggling between their whispers until a conclusion was reached; Ginny waved her wand in a great arc and - _poof_ \- Morty realized that the weight on his head felt wrong; he reached up, tugging off what certainly wasn’t his cap to inspect it while the triplets vanished out of sight with another giggle and a poof – Morty wasn’t disappointed about being turned down, he was amazed that Ginny managed to swap his hat with Luigi’s, _especially_ because the plumber wasn’t anywhere near the hotel at the moment.

114\. Possession

“Can you try possessing me?” Morty didn’t know where Luigi got the idea to ask him that, but he couldn’t say ‘no’ to those warm eyes glinting with curiosity, and so he settled himself behind Luigi to instruct him on what to do (“Raise your arm, good, just like that!”) with a hand on the plumber’s shoulder, giving him a heads-up once he began slowly bringing down his own arm more and more until it overlapped with Luigi’s - sinking in and letting his limb become one with Luigi’s and-- _oh this felt more intense compared to the few times he’d possessed objects and he just had to try moving their arm and_\-- his star let out a shaky gasp and Morty’s arm popped out, refusing to go back below Luigi’s surface like a fishing pole’s stubborn bobber; “I’m afraid that’s the best I can do, maybe you could ask Wolfgeist about--” Morty’s voice trailed off when Luigi gave his hand a soft squeeze with a happy murmur of _"I'm satisfied with this"_.

115\. Disgrace

“Well then, my good man, a cup of Lunoman Greenie, please!” E. Gadd said while Luigi helped him onto the cafe’s high seat, only to get stared at by the most baffled looking barista ghost behind the counter, “you know, Lunoman Greenie, it’s--” the ghost shook his head, “Never heard of it, sir,” and Luigi got to witness the very stages of grief flashing across E. Gadd’s face before it settled on weary acceptance; “This is a disgrace, my boy, how could you run a cafe without knowing about Lunoman Greenie’s rich taste,” the dismayed professor asked, a hand resting on his forehead - “We could order a shipment h--” E. Gadd cut off the ghost with a quick “_Please do_”.

116\. Dessert

Wolfgeist had invited Luigi to tea, and now the box of doughnuts Luigi brought with him sat neatly arranged on a decorative porcelain plate between them, and even though Luigi kept on catching Wolfgeist’s eyes flickering down to the plate, the pianist’s free hand twitching like he was about to reach for the sweet treats, Luigi was the only one enjoying them; “Um… if you’re not in the mood for any, I could take the rest to Kruller…” Wolfgeist let out a deep sigh, finally picking the pink glazed doughnut with sprinkles he’d been eyeing - “You’re making it_ hard_ for me to keep up an image, Luigi”.

117\. Relax

Finally, _finally_ it was done, Morty reclined in his chair, satisfaction outweighing the fatigue from his long editing process, he couldn’t wait for the audiences to see this one; he was blissfully unaware of the elevator bringing back the star of the film in question.

118\. Service

Steward was already darting for Luigi’s suitcase the second he stepped into the hotel, and Luigi held up a hand, “No, no, I can carry it myself, it’s light,” seeing no need to bother the bellboy with his luggage; the ghost looked _hurt_, and Luigi immediately handed his case over to the ghost with an apology – Steward’s mood recovered instantly.

119\. Stairs

“Ta-da, stairs!” E. Gadd dramatically threw out a hand to point at the steps leading up, “They go all the way from here to the top of the hotel. Now there’s an alternative when the elevator is busy! It’s very convenient, if I do say so myself!” the ghosts looked down at their tails in collective silence, then the stairs, and in the blink of an eye they dove through the walls and ceiling and floor, leaving behind a baffled E. Gadd and Morty; “These stairs… they could provide a dramatic setting to so many scenes! Oh, this is wonderful!” at least_ someone_ appreciated the new addition.

120\. Heart

Luigi’s hands sunk through Morty’s ectoplasm with his permission, carefully cupping the heart that had made itself visible in the ghost’s chest, feeling its warmth, its rising beat; “It belongs to you, but I’m afraid you can’t take it too far away from me,” Morty laughed, casting a fond look at the trembling hands that held the important part of him.

121\. Unspoken

Whenever something huge fell at a set without a prior warning, the loud crash echoed throughout the studio, prompting Morty to shield his head with his arms; a moment would pass before he lowered them, going on with his day like nothing had happened – Luigi didn’t know whether it was a subject Morty would want to talk about.

122\. Body

“Next question: do you miss having a body?” E. Gadd tapped a pen on the thick stack of questions, and Clem mulled over it for a while as he scratched at his cheek, finally answering with a serious face, “Why would I, if I’ve got mine stashed away in the basement?”; E. Gadd’s pen jerked to a halt and Luigi spat coffee all over himself, both of them staring at Clem with furrowed brows - “Nah, I’m just pullin’ yer leg here, pal. That’s ghost humor for ya,” he grinned.

123\. Hate

“I don’t hate Luigi,” Dr. Potter explained to Chef Soulfflé while the two were picking fruits for Soulfflé’s new dessert recipes, placing the bounties of the harvest into a large basket, “I simply don’t _like_ him, I don’t.”

124\. Ballerina

It was the ballerinas’ time to get on stage, but the group stood frozen behind the curtains after one of them had spotted Luigi in the audience; Wolfgeist looked over his shoulder, following the little ghosts’ gazes to the plumber, and then back to them, still playing - “There is no need to worry, he won’t attempt to catch you, but if he does, he’ll get to taste my bombs”.

125\. Nomination

“It’s your first nomination, Luigi! I’m… oh, I’m so proud of you!” Luigi was still staring at the letter in his hands, speechless, when Morty scooped him up into his arms for a hug, droplets of wet ectoplasm soaking Luigi’s clothes as the two laughed; _Morty’s tears wouldn’t stop flowing_.


	6. 126-150

126\. Doubt

Sometimes Morty overthinks, working himself into a state where his anguish keeps on snowballing, adding all of his worries and fears into its hefty mass until it smashes into Morty at full force, burying him in his own doubts; is it right to keep up the bond with his beloved star, his muse who is so… so full of life - _actual life_ – that Morty lacks,_ isn’t it too early for him to get involved with afterlife like this_?

127\. Motivation

It wasn’t just Mario’s inspiring determination that helped him to keep going as the two fought their way through Bowser’s troops; the thought of putting an end to this and finally getting to go back home where a certain sweet dog and director were waiting for him renewed his fighting spirit.

128\. Dance

“C’mon, baby, where’s those moves you busted back then?” DJ Phantasmagloria laughs, zipping and twirling around Luigi as she claps her hands to the beat, “You’re the one who got back those Music Keys, so I know you can do it!”; he _could_, but the fact that Morty was watching them –_ him_ – made his limbs feel like lead.

129\. Haunted

Luigi’s grasp around Morty’s arm tightened when E. Gadd announced that he would be going on a research trip to a reportedly haunted location, and he wanted Luigi to come along with him; “Luigi, my boy… this hotel is technically _haunted_, and you’re holding onto _a ghost_. Why would you be scared of the other place?”

130\. Replace

A lot of hard work was put into getting the elevator buttons back, yet he didn’t really get to enjoy seeing them all in one place before the building fell apart around him; _it’s a shame they were found smashed up in the wreckage_, Luigi thinks, tracing the curves of the new buttons while considering where to go next, _the replacements don’t have the same charm_.

131\. Intense

“Amadeus, what is it that allows you to stay in control of the objects you possess, what is the chain made of that tethers you to it? Is it a closely guarded secret, or--” “Pure anger. The stronger, the better,” Wolfgeist says, tapping his notes on the piano’s lid to straighten them into a neat stack, and upon noticing Morty’s disappointment, he adds, “…I suppose other intense emotions may work as well”.

132\. Relief

They’d been riding the elevator up in silence for a good while until Steward turned to Luigi, licking his lips as if considering whether it was alright to say out loud what he’d been thinking of, “I… I must say, sir, it’s a relief Morty’s got you now,” Steward straightened his posture, adjusting his hold on Luigi’s suitcase, “I don’t mean to be rude, but he really couldn’t, you know, fight his way out of a wet paper bag, as they say,” - the only thing Luigi was able to say to that is a soft “_O-oh _”.

133\. Messy

Wolfgeist runs his long fingers through his hair in an attempt to tidy the unfurling mess it has become, struggling to contain the anger that is clawing at him from the inside, demanding to be let out while Luigi’s making faces and shaking his head behind E. Gadd, a silent plead for him to calm down; he’s not holding back for Luigi’s sake, he’s doing it because it would be _unprofessional_ to lose his temper in front of his new boss on the opening day of the new hotel.

134\. Space

Morty had asked Luigi to share his stories of space - _“Aliens! Did you cross paths with aliens up in there?”_ \- and now the director’s notepad had become a collection of scribbled out lines and messy writings, trying to make sense of Luigi’s fantastic yet surreal tales: “So there are stars… who eat smaller stars… and there is a chance they’ll transform into bigger stars?”

135\. Turn

_A hotel with a billiards table, that’s perfect_, is what Slim Bankshot thought as he pushed open the front doors of the hotel, only to immediately execute a smooth one eighty degree turn upon catching sight of Luigi in the lobby, the luggage abandoned in his haste to flee the awful establishment.

136\. Sound

Each beat of her… her music – _that’s what it’s called_ – pulsed through Gooigi like a jolt of electricity, sending his matter wobbling and twitching and his hand… his hand couldn’t stop snapping along to the rhythm, and he didn’t _want_ to stop for some reason; “This is quite groovy, isn’t it?” Luigi smiled, mirroring the goo’s snapping, his legs doing something that looked complicated to Gooigi while he tried to keep track of which hoodie-clad Goob had the button.

137\. Call

Telemarketers tend to call the phone in the lobby, and Clem practically dives for it if he catches it ringing for a chance to mess with the living – Luigi has no idea what is being said on the other end but the ghost starts to shake and bite his lip, slapping a hand over his face to muffle a snort and then he’s breaking down, howling with laughter; “He wants ta know if any of us is interested in buyin’ a life insurance!” everyone in the lobby join his hysterical laughter, _including_ Luigi.

138\. Answer

There were so many ideas Morty hadn’t been able to use ever since his directing career took an otherworldly turn - _“Director Morty, there’s no tension in escaping an exploding building if he can just float through the walls!”_ \- with a matching cast that lacked human limitations, but then _he_ arrived, his savior, the answer to all of his problems, a deus ex machina he welcomed with open arms; Luigi could bring to life all the concepts he’d dreamed of (_“I am perfectly aware that a ghost can pass through the door, but this is a buddy cop film, so Luigi needs to kick down that door”_).

139\. Isolated

Whether Wolfgeist was a beast wearing the disguise of a calm and collected ghost or a cultured ghost who had exceptionally bad outbursts was open to debate, but what Hellen _did_ know was that he had to be told not to wander away from his floor too often, and she’d rather have him keep his destructive habits there; many bets were made around the hotel that Luigi wouldn’t make it through the fourth floor, and plenty of money ended up changing hands that night.

140\. Hair

“But Phantasmagloria, these are all the same wig,” everyone she showed her treasured wig collection to would question the lack of variety, and Phantasmagloria couldn’t see why; this is the style she preferred to rock, so why wouldn’t she be well-prepared with plenty of spares?

141\. Confessions

There weren’t any grand declarations of love when they got together; there was a shy brush of fingers when Morty and Luigi were outside to admire the stars of the brilliant night sky, followed by Luigi taking Morty’s hand into his, head resting against the director as he said, “I love you,” loud and clear because he was _sure_ about his feelings for Morty.

142\. Twins

Even though Morty was too fascinated by Gooigi to keep his hands off of him, he was still careful with his touches, the press and caress of his fingers feather-light - “It’s like you’re twins,” Morty glanced between Luigi and Gooigi, suddenly looking thoughtful, “but Mario’s your twin, so maybe I should say you three are almost like triplets!” - _Triplets_… Gooigi let out a happy wet chirp of a sound at that thought.

143\. Trust

With growing friendships came a sense of trust that developed with kindness and attention, and sometimes that trust could make one’s friend open up to a person about silly little habits they haven’t told anyone about, maybe an embarrassing secret or two, but when your friend was a ghost, what they entrusted you with instead tended to be, well… details of their _demise_; Clem was especially excited about revealing the end of his life to Luigi in front of a campfire like it was a scary story.

144\. Wishes

Another film done meant another opportunity for Morty to gently stroke the reels containing his newest masterpiece, nuzzling them against his face with a happy sigh; ‘_I wish I was those reels_,’ Luigi thought.

145\. Professor

E. Gadd’s new collection of ghosts was perfect, and he didn’t even need to keep them in portraits: they were free to roam the hotel and do as they pleased, and E. Gadd would observe them like specimens in their natural habitat; “Is he doing another experiment?” Chambrea whispered to Chef Soulfflé in the middle of their potato peeling, pointing the peeler at the corner where E. Gadd stood scribbling away in his notebook.

146\. Stage

Luigi did his best to keep Melody away from the Great Stage during her stay at the hotel despite all the hints she dropped about wanting to go there; the pianist had rather… strong opinions about music, and if she spoke about those opinions with Wolfgeist… Luigi shuddered – he’d rather not think about how many levels Wolfgeist would wreck in his rage.

147\. Possessed

Love tied Morty to Luigi’s body, tight enough to keep them together, but not too tight to prevent Luigi from moving his-- _their_ limbs however he wished; hopes and fears of the two souls crammed into one body flowed freely between their shared space, spreading out closely guarded thoughts for both of them to hear, to feel, _‘Is that what’s been worrying you-- me-- us…?’_

148\. Bag

“Mr. Bankshot? Your bags are still here, and I’d like to ask you when would you be able to come pick them up…?” Steward curled the cord of the phone around his finger, “...Hm, Luigi? Oh, he’s still here, do you want to speak to him, I can--” – _click_ – _huh, he hang up_.

149\. Fear

Morty had never before met an actor who was as good at acting afraid as Luigi was; he was so convincing, in fact, that it felt like his star was genuinely afraid of ghosts in cheap costumes… he couldn’t be, could he…?

150\. Talk

Being separate once again after being _one_ for a while was quite disorienting, their thoughts taking their time to rearrange back into the order that was familiar to them - this fuzzy state was a reason why ghosts preferred to possess inanimate objects, there was no one else to share the vessel with - but this was all worth it for the two, although… Morty shook his head, feeling that he had to speak up through the haze clouding his mind; “_We… we need to talk_”.


	7. 151-175

151\. Overwhelmed

Both of them had witnessed glimpses of what have been troubling their partner, an occasion that required a proper conversation to clear up the matters, to ease the weight that had been piled on their hearts; Morty was a very eloquent ghost, but he still had a hard time picking the topic to start on, pointing his finger in the air to trail it down the invisible list of the subjects – there were so many.

152\. Flower

E. Gadd almost had his face in the blue flowers he was watching Dr. Potter tend to, scrunching his face like he was trying to recall something, leaning closer still into the flowers in hopes of finding the said memory hiding in them – then he jerked back, smacking his little fist into his palm as recognition glinted behind his lenses; “Oh, yes, it was these flowers! How could I have forgotten about them? This might be hard to believe, _heh_, but when I got to meet the illustrious Three Sisters, I got to gift Belinda with one of these,” E. Gadd smiled fondly at the memory, the expression quickly shifting into bewilderment when the confused gardener asked “_The who_?”

153\. Prepare

No matter what Morty was going to choose to talk about first, Luigi knew how it was all going to end, how _they_ were going to end; he gripped his knees hard enough for it to hurt, blinking away the burning sensation in his eyes in order to steel himself for what would be one of the most difficult discussions in his life.

154\. Stupidity

Wolfgeist’s music was marvelous, simply marvelous... and quite moving, if he was to be honest, but he wasn’t here merely to listen to it; E. Gadd had heard many horror stories about what Wolfgeist was capable of when angered, and he knew he had to see that rage for himself – what a _coincidence_ it was that he was the only one in the audience, holding this rotten tomato he just _happened_ to have, preparing to hurl it at the pianist in three… two…

155\. Capture

Kruller attended the majority of Morty’s weekly movie nights, even the scary ones which he would peep at through his fingers, cowering behind them whenever the flick got too frightening for his taste; curiously enough he’d always be absent every time the film featured humans - when Morty asked him about it, he began fidgeting with his sunglasses, “The other ones are safe kinda fun, but the ones with humans are… too _real_ for me, you know? I had been an… an easy target for them to try to catch before I came here”.

156\. Language

All of the ghosts had an innate fluency in their own language, which they mostly spoke when they were with each other or didn’t want humans to know what they were talking about; Morty used it to give Luigi a term of endearment he refused to properly translate for him.

157\. Ask

“...Is it necessary to talk about all that if you’re going to break up with me?” despite Luigi’s resolution, his voice was wavering, and he had to force himself to look up to meet the eyes of the ghost; the sight of Morty’s tears spilling down his face were enough to bring out his own.

158\. Umbrella

The barrage of rain pelted the umbrella Gooigi shared with Luigi, a constant, loud reminder of the element that could dissolve him instantly if he was to discard the umbrella; he should be going back inside, the humidity was making his form sag, but the refreshing crisp air and Luigi’s excited explanations about their surroundings made him want to stay outside just a little longer.

159\. Joke  
Cheff Soulfflè had rushed after the prankster Goobs that had startled him into spilling his tray of various desserts, painting the floor red with berries and dyed jellies; Luigi and Clem were following the spectacle from their table just a little further away from the mess, “This reminds me of a joke,” Clem said through a mouthful of sandwich - “I’d rather not hear it,” Luigi cringed, well aware of how Clem’s jokes often turned out.

160\. Animal

Luigi’s… _pet_ had made himself comfortable in Wolfgeist’s lap, so the pianist set his tea cup down on the saucer with a little clink to mull over what to do with the panting pup presenting his belly to him; Polterpup hadn’t attempted to lick him, so Wolfgeist supposed he wouldn’t mind indulging him with a few scratches, and the second he was about to touch that spectral fur, Clem emerged through the floor with a whistle - “Hah, I never thought I’d get to see our guard dog playin’ around with Luigi’s guard dog!” “_What did you call me?_”

161\. Pineapple

Pizza was the usual pick when it came getting something to eat at the studio, and the crew saw it as another opportunity to mess around with Luigi; they were already grinning when one of the ghosts handed Luigi his box - “_We picked out the toppings for you!_” - just about snickering as they watched the plumber open it,“Extra pineapple, my favorite! How did you know?” he was…he was _beaming_, and the ghosts’ faces fell – _this wasn’t how it was supposed to go_.

162\. Teach

Clem pauses mid-swig of his coffee, the ghost’s brain taking its sweet time to register what he’d just heard, “Did ya just call me-- w-whuh--who taught you _that_?” “Morty calls me that, he said it means ‘_dear friend_’,” Luigi doesn’t get any time to wonder why Clem was reacting that way when Clem pulls him close to whisper into his ear like he’s sharing a secret, “Did he, now? In that case, lemme teach ya a word you can call him the next time you see him, it’s...”; the next day Morty’s glow grows more and more intense until it rivals that of a star after Luigi calls him… calls him… _oh_, he can’t think about _it_ without his heart trying to jump out.

163\. Tears

Morty’s hands are on Luigi in an instant, one desperate hand gripping his shoulder while the other is wiping away Luigi’s tears with the thumb as gentle as he could, vision blurry from his own tears as he sobs, “I don’t… I don’t want to break up with you, the thought alone makes my heart ache, but it is vital that I do it,” Morty turns his head away from the gloved hands that reach up for him, You’ve… you’ve surrounded yourself with _death_, I mean… the majority of your friends are... your dog’s…” he trails off; “You don’t need to trap yourself in a relationship with a _dead_ person, too”.

164\. Deny

Fists sparkling with electricity yank Morty down by the front of his sweater, and he finds himself face to face with Luigi and the fury burning in his tear-filled eyes, “I won’t allow it…! Do you really think I _care_ about _what_ you are? You’re always telling me that the difference between you and the living is just the lack of body, and now you’re acting like that’s a problem? You could be living, or dead, or a koopa or a-- _anything_, and it wouldn’t matter,” Luigi shakes his head, and what’s left of his anger melts into a tired smile, “all that matters is what I fell in love with in _here_”; the hand that slips into Morty’s ectoplasm to touch his heart sets off another torrent of ghost tears.

165\. Tired

What was left sitting on the lobby’s stairs after Wolfgeist’s latest outburst was a shadow of the pianist, the messy hair hanging down obscuring both his face and identity, having been drained of all energy by a particularly bad fit of anger as he clutched an open box of donuts like it was his own self he was trying to keep together; right now, Wolfgeist couldn’t muster the will to _care_ what the others thought of him chomping down on a jam-filled doughnut, the glaze sticking to the corners of his mouth.

166\. Pain

“Did it feel painful ta have ya slammin’ me on the cold hard metal floor over and over again? Yeah, I did feel pain...” Clem grumbled without a trace of his usual mischievous amusement, and Luigi was about to apologize when the mechanic continued, “..._phantom pain_, that is,” and cracked a huge smile; “Clem, that’s not funny…!”

167\. Silence

All of Luigi and Morty’s pent-up emotions had left with their tears; the pair leaned against each other as they sat on the bench at one of the hotel’s many balconies, the night air drying the last traces of their crying – they were content to sit together in complete silence like this, satisfied with the confirmation that what they’d built _together_ would continue to exist.

168\. Explanations

Morty had thought that Luigi had merely acted afraid whenever he was part of his horror movies, and knowing now that those performances were born out of real fear had filled with him guilt; Luigi’s grip had tightened on Morty’s hand when he admitted that he enjoyed working on those films despite how frightening they’d been, because none of it was real, and he’d been in a _safe_ environment – the last part made Morty tense up.

169\. Memories

E. Gadd was fascinated by what the ghosts of humans could and couldn’t remember, spending plenty of time to look into the background of the hotels’ tenants, tracking down anything that had to do with their mortal lives, sliding photos and news clippings across the table to those who’d agreed to view them after he’d explained what he wanted to show them – some had stared long and hard at old photos of themselves – _alive and grinning_ – without recognizing who they were; to them, they were photos of _strangers_.

170\. Over

Morty and his crew had done everything they could to make their studio safe for humans after Luigi had joined them, but on that night at the balcony he’d begged Luigi to stay alert at the sets as well, to make sure he’d really stay safe; he had met his own end through someone’s careless – _and rather heavy_ – mistake, finding solace in the fact that it had been over for him before he was able to register the _pain_.

171\. Helping

A portion of the staff ghosts winced the moment Morty volunteered to help them with lugging around the hefty goods and debris on the construction site; the Goobs were quick to direct him over to the side to pick out the color schemes of the future floors, a task much more suitable for him.

172\. Skeletons

“One of the skeletons you see in the scene where Luigi’s character finds the map in the crypts is actually mine,” Morty reveals nonchalantly, and the interviewer nods, writing it down without even batting an eye, about to ask the next question when he’s interrupted by Luigi’s shout of “Wait, what--?” -_ please tell me it’s just some of that morbid ghost humor_, he’s desperately hoping.

173\. Patch

_Finally_, Slim’s _finally_ in the hotel, and that pesky plumber is nowhere to be seen, and he’s ready to hit the billiards table; the second he opens the door to the entertainment room, he’s met with the sight of the bellboy wrestling with a humongous ghost shark - “C-Captain, you can’t use any of the billiard balls as a replacement eye! Please, give it back!” Steward pleads, trying to slip his hand beneath the flailing Fishook’s eyepatch.

174\. Chandelier

Morty always flew along the wall whenever he and Luigi left and returned to the hotel, making sure not to be anywhere near the chandelier that loomed over the lobby; “Chandeliers are the femme fatales of the light fixtures, Luigi: alluring but deadly. They’re falling down all the time in the movies”.

175\. Hunt

“There’s such a huge gathering of ghosts in this hotel. It’s a wonder that hadn’t attracted any ghost hunters back at the old one,” E. Gadd dipped a biscuit in his steaming cup of Lunoman Greenie (_finally in stock_), “Oh, actually--” and it was as far as Morty got before the room’s temperature took a sharp rise, Wolfgeist’s blazing aura emanating warmth that was melting down the glazing of their pastries, “….it’s nothing, actually,” Morty corrected as he made a face at the liquefied frosting running down his hand, the answer subsiding the intensity of Wolfgeist’s heat to a tolerable level; Luigi was glad he’d gone with the same plain biscuits as the professor.


	8. 176-200

176\. Friends

Mario didn’t get to meet all of the ghosts despite spending days in the bustle of the construction site, so now he’s listening to Luigi as the younger brother points out spectral faces in a group photo, heedful of each new name Luigi mentions; Mario is delighted Luigi’s made so many new friends, and based on the way Luigi stutters and blushes when he gets to the one wearing a cap, there’s someone he sees as more than a friend.

177\. Desert

All of Serpci’s questions about Sarasaland centered around Birabuto Kingdom, which Luigi didn’t mind answering; her normally elegant gestures were charged with excitement over the thought of a kingdom that sounded a lot like Serpci’s original home, and he was happy for her, he really was, but it was all the detailed queries about the _sand_ that he found concerning – _what did she have in mind_?

  
  
178\. Break

When a ghost loses themselves in the maelstrom of their strong emotions, their form would usually follow by breaking and twisting as they drown in the intensity, sometimes offering others a split-second blink-and-you’ll-miss it glimpse of a body that was _wrong_ \- a word that can’t even begin to describe the terror of how tight your throat will feel, how your eyes will water from a primal feeling at a sight that makes you desperately wish that it was just your imagination, that you had _blinked;_ every time Luigi would shake off the upsetting image to hug the distressed director tighter.

179\. Pity

Luigi wanted to pity MacFrights, the forgotten king whose kingdom – actually a single hotel floor – consisted of a handful of Goobs and dozens upon dozens of cardboard subjects who showed their adoration to their leader with pre-recorded cheers, but it was hard to do so when the King radiated pride as he gestured at the small arena opening before them with a long sweep of his arm, speaking of his gratitude to his loyal subjects.

180\. Bend

The crooked end of Wolfgeist’s tail would attract others to grab onto it, acting on an unconscious need to straighten it out so it would match the rest of Wolfgeist’s neat appearance, but the bend refused to budge, perfectly satisfied with itself and its placement; nowadays he would have to yank his tail out of Luigi’s grasp as well - _how bothersome_.

181\. Accent

_‘What is that accent?’_ people would sometimes ask themselves when they’re having a talk with Luigi, oh, it was right on the tip of their tongue, and then his boyfriend – an actual ghost – would speak up, prompting them to repeat the question: _‘What is **that** accent?’_

182\. Waste

“_A waste of time_,” is what most ghosts called sleep, having shed the need for it along the other human essentials, and Morty used to share that opinion until he met Luigi; now he would fall asleep whenever Luigi was visiting, curled around his precious star who starts snoring in record time, looking forward to greeting the morning with Luigi while he waits to fall into the tender clutches of sleep – _it never takes too long_.

183\. Darkness

There wasn’t much to do in the vast darkness inside Poltergust but to float around as numerous ghosts lit up the void without boundaries with their glow, like lanterns guiding the lost ones at night; “...Morty?” the director’s head snaps to the side at a familiar voice, coming to face to face with Wolfgeist, a relieved smile tugging the corners of Morty’s mouth up, “_Finally_, some sensible company in this miserable place,” Wolfgeist’s tail curls around Morty’s firmly so neither of them would end up getting separated among the spectral masses - “How long do you estimate we’ll be stuck in here?” “Hmm… hard to say, but it seems like we’ll have plenty of time to _kill_, so how about we discuss my next project? I still need a composer for that one...”

184\. Fearless

“Watch out for the ghost hunters,” the ghosts used to tell the ones who left the hotel to explore the world outside, but now they’re at ease, casually waving off those who ventured outside with a little “Come back soon, okay?” - they felt like _nothing_ out there could surpass what they went through in Luigi’s hands.

185\. Horror

Gooigi and Morty ended up bonding over horror movies out of all things; while the rest of the regular viewers would visibly react in shock to the many obscure scary flicks from Sarasaland which Morty showed at some of his movie nights, Gooigi would lean forward, captivated by the effects and the writing you didn’t see often in those filmed in Mushroom Kingdom; every now and then Gooigi was given the honor of choosing a film.

186\. Wrong

“Morty can’t fight back or protect himself… isn’t he vulnerable?” the staff ghosts would voice their concerns while having a drink at Fishook’s bar, “What is he going to do if he gets attacked?” - Luigi didn’t see anything wrong with the way Morty was: he was a ghost whose job was to _create_, he wasn’t one to raise a hand to harm and destroy, and if it ever came to it, Luigi would give his _all_ to protect him.

187\. Proxy

With Mario and Luigi off on another grand adventure, it was up to Gooigi and Morty to look after Polterpup, who was pure live wire as he zoomed and leapt from place to place and from lap to lap to receive all the pats and belly rubs and affection it wanted from the two who had become part of the family.

188\. All

“Maybe you should clean up a little in here,” Luigi waded through the clutter Clem had amassed in his quarters, bits and pieces of junk clinging onto his legs as he tried to make his way to the table the two played poker at, “all of this seems like a fire hazard.” - Clem stared at Luigi like he had lost his mind, “_A fire hazard?_ We’re surrounded by _water_, Luigi. Tons and tons of water. It’s fine”.

189\. Embarrassment

“...Is this really okay?” Luigi keeps his eyes glued to the ground as Morty leads him around the town by hand, feeling hot under the stares of the passersby, “I mean, you’re a famous director, and I’m… I don’t want to embarrass you,” he attempts to let go of Morty’s hand, but the ghost adjusts his hold - “Do you mind holding hands with me?” “No, but...” “It’s settled, then. There’s nothing to be concerned about,” Morty gives his hand a soft squeeze with an equally soft smile, “you could never embarrass me, but I can’t guarantee _I_ won’t embarrass you with _my_ deeds someday”.

190\. Worship

She was _everything_ to him, his boss, the person who gave his _life_ meaning, who gave him a job and orders, and with Hellen now gone… Steward felt utterly lost; that E. Gadd fellow doesn’t seem to have realized how much he ached to get proper directions from him – _let me prove how useful I can be, please, please, please_…!

191\. Thankful

One day, just as E. Gadd is about to pour himself a cup of Lunoman Greenie, his hand jerks to a halt and he turns to Luigi, “My boy, as awful as that King Boo can be, I am actually thankful to him about one thing: this hotel. If he hadn’t tricked us into coming here, I may have never found out about a hotel that is filled with ghosts. He did us a real favor there”.

192\. Hurt

Luigi’s latest adventure had left him with a couple scratches and a sizable bruise that had made itself comfortable right on his _right_ cheek for everyone to see, and Luigi had to admit it felt rather tender, but it didn’t feel as bad as the look on Morty’s face did when the director got to see the ‘souvenirs’, wide-eyed expression crumbling away into a sob as his hands shook inches away from Luigi; _could he touch him without causing his star more pain_?

193\. Prince

Among the photos adorning Luigi’s walls and shelves was a snap of… Morty leans closer, squinting at the photo, “Is that _you_ with the prince of Beanbean Kingdom?” and within a second Luigi is spluttering and blushing up a storm while he fidgets in place, vocabulary degrading into ‘um’s and ‘ah’s as he tries to start an explanation somewhere; “An old crush, eh?” Morty teases, and the plumber _squeaks_ at that.

194\. Breathe

The advanced swimming lessons Johnny was giving out were excellent and Johnny knew his stuff, Luigi had nothing to complain about, but… there was no way he could dive to the bottom of the pool and do a full swim routine down there; when Luigi informed Johnny that he was a living being who needed to _breathe_, the swimmer became visibly baffled before replying, “Oh… oh, that’s a bummer, dude”.

195\. Balloon

“How did he end up in there?!” Morty pointed at Luigi, now dangling from a bunch of balloons high up on the ceiling, calling for help, “I-- I don’t know…!” a Goob crew member threw his arms up, “I just… I asked him to hold onto some balloons for me, and _whoosh_, up he went…!”

196\. Fun

“Enough!” MacFrights’ claps echoed throughout the arena, signaling the end of the Goobs’ tournament play fight, “Bring forth the jester!” Luigi did a double take when he saw DJ Phantasmagloria enter the arena on her hands, her vibrantly-colored afro jingling with each ‘step’ she took; the whole audience - spectral and cardboard - broke into wild cheers.

197\. Watch

Luigi blinked, rubbing at his eyes to make sure he wasn’t imagining things - the piano was _snoring_, it was _actually_ snoring; Morty held up a finger, a request to keep his voice down, “Amadeus asked me to watch over him while he sleeps, some of the more… mischievous ghosts think it’s funny to try waking him up whenever he has a slumber in his piano,” he whispers, nodding towards the instrument which topples over all on its own with a startling bang, “ah, he changed position again”.

198\. Spirit

“It’s a shame we won’t be able to be there for yer kart race in person, but we’ll be there with ya in spirit. Get it, we’re already spirits so we’ll be there for--” Luigi groans at Clem’s awful ‘joke’, as does the rest of the ghosts present save for Morty who is jotting it down into his notepad, nodding like Clem’s said something genius.

199\. Brain

E. Gadd was the leading expert on all things paranormal, respected by his fellow ghost enthusiasts, confident that he’s able to answer anything regarding the spectral beings - _“Do you know why we’re able to think if we don’t have a brain?”_ a group of curious ghosts had come to his door, stumping even the good old doctor – yes, he was indeed able to answer anything regarding the ghosts… well, _almost_ anything.

200\. Illness

Luigi sniffled, “I don’t...” he sneezed into his pajama-clad arm, “I don’t want you to get sick”; “Well then, you’re in luck: ghosts can’t catch illnesses, Luigi,” Morty grinned, scooping another spoonful of soup for Luigi, “we’ll get you back up and jumping in no time!”


	9. 201-225

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays!

201\. Birthday

The ghosts didn’t celebrate birthdays – some of them didn’t even remember their own – or deathdays (they’d rather not think about those), but Morty always made sure he’d be there to celebrate Luigi’s each time the plumber’s birthday rolled around.

202\. Run

_A little break wouldn’t hurt_, Luigi figures after running long enough on the treadmill to really break a sweat, and the instant he hops off, his audience of Goobs plead “_Again, again!_” as if asking for an encore following a performance; now that he thought about it, getting to watch him run really must’ve been entertainment for ghosts who had no legs of their own to use.

203\. Stretch

The sight of Morty’s tail splitting itself strikes Luigi with a cold sensation in the pit of his stomach, unable to tear his eyes away from the ectoplasm halving its mass into two separate tail ends, tiny strings of spectral matter still connecting the pieces stretching and trembling in their effort to keep them together, ripping apart one by one until –_ pop_ \- the tails snap back into one like an overworked rubber band; “...Hmm. I assume you can’t force your soul to have two tails. Do you have any other ideas you’d like to test out, Luigi?”

204\. Video

Morty’s hands are turning around the VHS box with his name on the back and a grinning picture of Mario on the front in their trembling grasp, unable to accept that the innocent-looking video he’s seeing and touching really exists –_ I don’t remember directing this_.

205\. Take

Take three… take six… Morty sighed, giving his star and the rest of the cast a tired smile, “Take seven!” maybe the film’s comedy was a little too good if his actors kept bursting into wheezing laughter before they could even finish delivering the jokes.

206\. Shop

“No, Ug, you can’t possess that one,” Luigi had to turn down Ug who was jabbing his finger at every dinosaur fossil he saw at the museum, turning to Luigi with a hopeful grin on his face, “No, not that one either, but maybe we can get you something nice at the gift shop…?” he told the frowning caveman; the little dinosaur model they ended up buying (_“You can build it by yourself!”_) made Ug as excited as the actual fossils did.

207\. Old

The older the ghost, the more powerful they are, their abilities growing stronger as time went on – _“Like ripening cheese, Luigi”_, E. Gadd had once explained - and while he was pondering over this information, a familiar short-tempered pianist popped into his mind; considering the power Wolfgeist already had… how much worse is he going to get in the future?

208\. Lazy

It’s not that he didn’t want to do it, it’s because he didn’t need to do it – there was no need to clean up his so-called garbage dump of a room if he knew full well where everythin’ was, and he didn’t need to accept Johnny’s invitation to a swimmin’ race if there wasn’t an urgent situation that required him to swim; _let them call me lazy as much as they want_, Clem shrugged.

209\. Whisper

Luigi blinked, his vision blurry from teetering between dream world and reality; a glowing hand sought out Luigi’s ungloved one in the darkness, its touch comfortingly cold as their fingers laced together with a whisper of “Go back to sleep, it’s not morning yet”.

210\. Hatred

No words were needed to express King Boo’s feelings towards Luigi, for the boo’s eyes held all of the immeasurable _hatred_ he couldn’t hide even if he wanted to, his stare boring through his dome prison and into his nemesis – _I will get you next time_.

211\. Cage

“And here,” MacFrights motioned at the cell taking up the entirety of the room with his hand spread wide, “is where I imprison my enemies!” it… it sure was a huge cell, and it begged the question… “What enemies?” Luigi’s tone was one of genuine curiosity, but it made the king’s face twist with fury; “You dare imply I’m too insignificant to have enemies? Guards, lock him up!”

212\. Breath

Morty didn’t need to breathe, but he would still steal Luigi’s breath with kisses: every time they met, each morning they woke up, sometimes by surprise, and whenever they parted… it always left Luigi flustered but happy.

213\. Forgotten

Luigi inspected the VHS box that had been handed to him by the director who had turned pale enough to look almost white, “It seems I’ve made a movie about you and your brother that I do not have any recollection of, but what troubles me the most about it is to think that I’ve met you before that fateful night at the hotel, and I can’t _remember_ it”; huh, how odd, Luigi did _remember_ this movie, but nothing about _acting_ in it.

214\. Snow

The holiday seasons were rather unfortunate when it came to all that snow, so they would have to transport Gooigi between the hotel and Luigi’s house in the tank - they can’t have Gooigi walking outside when the environment was brimming with such hazards; “Well be there soon, Gooigi,” Luigi said to the warbling goo nestled in the tank, “I know it’s uncomfortable, but bear with it just a little longer. Look, you can already see our house from here!”

215\. Similar

Both of them agreed that there must’ve been a rational explanation for why neither of them were able to remember Luigi being in the film, and so they actually sat down to give it a watch for answers; Luigi held Morty’s hand throughout the opening, watching the tiniest of hints of realization flash across the ghost’s eyes – _right there_, there he was, dressed in the familiar green, the Luigi on screen turned to face the viewers to… to… wait, _that wasn’t Luigi_.

216\. Impersonator

The figure on screen simultaneously was but wasn’t Luigi, he looked like him, sure, but the more they looked at him, the more inconsistencies they noticed: the mustache was the slightest bit crooked, the eyes a few shades darker, and he walked from scene to scene with his chest puffed out… a budget version that did an alright job at being Luigi: “_Who is that_…?” Morty whispered, eyes flicking between the real Luigi and the doppelganger.

217\. Remember

“This is… now I remember. I… I was visiting Daisy when this was being filmed, so they had to get someone else to play my role...” Luigi’s grip was tightening enough on Morty’s hand for the fingertips to get lodged in the ectoplasm, the tremble of his lip visible even in the dimly-lit room, “It’s not _fair!_” he buried his face in his hand, “I could have met you back then if I hadn’t left for Sarasaland!”

218\. Coffin

Luigi had been yawning a lot for a while now, taking his sweet time with the cards on his turns; “There’s a guest bed over there if yer feelin’ like takin’ a lil’ nap,” Clem nodded towards the corner, “We can continue our game after ya wake up” - “That’s very nice of--_ Clem, that’s a coffin!_” “Yes, and it’s a very cozy one, too!” “I’m not sleeping in a coffin!”

219\. Today

Time wasn’t of much concern to ghosts now that mortality wasn’t tapping on their shoulder to remind them to do this and that _now_ before it was too late, and so most of them ended up losing track of days, but not Morty; the director preferred to set himself deadlines, scribbling notes and plans into his pocket planner for months in advance, happy to give anyone who asked him the current date - “_I’ll go consult our calendar_”, some would say while pointing their thumb at Morty.

220\. Luck

“...I consider it to be luck that you didn’t meet me,” Morty plucked his hand out of Luigi’s grasp, the matter shifting through Luigi’s fingers with the softest _pop_ before the plumber found himself in Morty’s gentle embrace; Luigi took a shuddering breath, “Maybe I could have… I could have...” “I genuinely thank the stars above that you weren’t there, that you didn’t get to know me. It would’ve been an… absolute _mess_ to deal with the whole dying hassle that happened later on” “But still--” “_It’s fine_, Luigi, it really is”.

221\. Search

There were days when Wolfgeist would seek inspiration in abandoned buildings that were favored by ghost hunters and paranormal enthusiasts as valuable spots for supernatural occurrences, and on the following days E. Gadd would receive mail from his colleagues pleading him to warn them in advance if he’s ‘planning to set his attack dog loose, and if so, _where_, so everyone would know to stay away from those locations because none of us like to get _scorched_, Gadd’ as those letters would put it.

222\. Again

The rest of the Mario movie was - if Luigi was to be honest - not all that bad, but not on par with Morty’s other works, and the director agreed, musing in silence while the credits rolled, meeting Luigi’s eyes again after his star had asked what Morty had in mind: “I would love to remake this if your brother agrees to it, and especially if you’ll be on board for it, too” - Luigi said ‘_yes_’ right away.

223\. Light

“We’re helping them stay alert, it’s no big deal,” the prankster Goobs donning sunglasses shrugged when confronted about their tendency to rush at other ghosts in the dark to stun them with a flashlight, leading to their victims pushing their startled hearts back into their chests with a grumble of _‘not this again’_ after the shock had passed; Kruller had amassed a vast collection of flashlights confiscated from the little rascals, _where do they keep on getting those_?

224\. Payment

Steward held the piece of paper pinched between his thumb and index as far away from him as possible, treating it like an explosive that could go off at any second, “...Sir, what is _this?_” he shook the offending ticket in his hand; “It’s your paycheck, sonny,” E. Gadd replied, not even looking up from the gadget he was tinkering with - “But sir, _she_ never paid me money, to know _you’re_ satisfied with my work is all the payment I need!”

225\. Cemetery

“...And that’s Chambrea,” Luigi set down the yellow rose on the maid’s grave, straightening himself and the bundle of flowers threatening to spill out of the crinkling paper wrapped around them that he held, “Who’s next?” - Morty squinted at the list of ghosts whose graves they had promised to visit on their trip, looking unsure all of a sudden, “Captain Fishook, but I’m not sure whether they’ll let us leave a rose at the museum he’s displayed at”.


	10. 226-250

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luigi: I don't approve of your methods, Amadeus "Let's take advantage of your death" Wolfgeist  
Wolfgeist: Too bad

226\. Cry

There was only so much people as sensitive as Luigi and Morty could take before they had to let it all out in the form of a good cry, sometimes shedding tears alone, sometimes together, pushing through the fatigued state it left them in afterwards with a renewed sense of determination to continue facing the challenges the world threw their way.

227\. Fail

Luigi stood before him, all dressed in formal wear, hands smoothing out the wrinkles on the vest, and Morty could do nothing but stare at him, wide-eyed: oh, how cruel of his words to have the _audacity_ to fail him _now_ \- “How do I look…?” Luigi fidgeted with his glittering bow, and all Morty was able to stammer out was a shaky _“I love you”_.

228\. Nobody

Accompanying Morty to the abandoned factory the director considered using as a movie set was the right choice; a pair of ghost hunters trembled behind a crate just a few steps away from them, sneaking glances at the two artists only to be sent flinching back into their hiding spot whenever Wolfgeist directed a glare filled with all the _detestation_ he could muster right at the humans,“What was that?” Morty asked, oblivious, “Rats, I presume,” Wolfgeist saw no point in making Morty worry – nobody was going to lay a finger on his friend as long as he was around.

229\. You

Before they had made their feelings known, Luigi and Morty would occasionally catch each other staring at nothing in particular, deep in thought, finding themselves yanked back to reality by the question “What are you thinking about you?”; _“You,”_ is what they wanted to answer, but the worst-case scenarios the simple word could lead to frightened them into replying “Ah, nothing interesting”.

230\. Order

Steward was unable to wrap his head around the remorse most of the other ghosts in the hotel felt when it came to attacking Luigi that fateful night back at the old hotel; he was just following _her_ orders, so why should he feel _remorse_ at doing what felt _right_ at the moment?

231\. Real

_This is real_, Luigi told himself, semi-conscious and snuggling against the pair of translucent arms embracing him from behind, reaching up to stroke Morty’s hand which twitched in response, _this is real, I’m not dreaming, I’m not going to wake up to an empty bed;_ he let his head drop back onto the pillow, eyes slipping shut to join the ghost in sleep,_ I just think too much_.

232\. Harsh

Despite his vow, Wolfgeist admitted to himself that it would be impossible for him and Luigi to always be there to keep Morty away from trouble whenever the director wandered out to explore inspiring locations that also attracted those who could easily capture him, and he knew he had to be harsh for Morty’s own good: “I’m not asking you to _fight_ nor to be _strong_, I’m asking you to be _terrifying_ when the situation requires it, and we’re going to start practicing right now”.

233\. Gold

Luigi and Clem were as surprised as the Gold Greenie they bumped into in the woods, they hadn’t expected to see one of those when they came here for a hike, and before they could promise the ghost they meant no harm, the valuable little thing had slipped away; they couldn’t blame the poor thing for that reaction - “I don’t envy them golden ones, I’d be a fraidy cat too if I had ta keep on skedaddlin’ because of a pricey hide ever’body wants,” Clem stared off into the direction the Greenie had vanished to, “...How does your soul turn golden in the first place?” “I dunno, but if it’s a matter of choice, then it’s a foolish one”.

234\. Pretty

Ghost hunters were advised to steel themselves whenever they managed to drive a ghost to the brink of utter hopelessness, as the strong emotions tended to momentarily make the ghost’s form falter and bring out the deceased form their usual friendly appearance hid from the world, a sight that varied from ‘peacefully passed away’ to ‘induces nausea and nightmares”; Morty belonged to the latter category, and it was exactly what Wolfgeist wanted to Morty to take advantage of, “It’s not… it’s not a _pretty_ sight, Amadeus, and besides, don’t you think it is rather mean and tasteless to show that someone?” “It’s what they _deserve_ for trying to catch you, Morty”.

235\. Star

The constellations glinting high above in the night sky were pretty, that couldn’t be denied, but none of them could come anywhere close to the brilliancy and beauty of the star that sat down here on the grass beside Morty, naming the constellations he pointed out with a beaming smile.

236\. Collection

If Chambrea was to give her honest opinion about E. Gadd’s room on the top floor, she’d say it’s unsettling; although she dutifully dusted off the portraits hanging on the walls, she couldn’t stop thinking of the fact that there were actual ghosts locked up in those paintings, a collection that doubled as a second graveyard for ghosts.

237\. Television

Barely any attention was paid to the television that was set up in the lobby, simple background noise that prevented silence from falling over the grand room whenever a discussion died down, but the occupants were quick to pay it attention if they happened to hear absurdities coming from it: “All this talk about afterlife is poppycock, there aren’t such things as ghosts,” a snooty looking toad sneered on the screen when asked about their opinion on paranormal activities – Luigi, Steward, Serpci, Dr. Potter, Amadeus, a group of Goobs and E. Gadd’s toad assistants all slowly turned their head towards the television in perfect sync, wearing poker faces of the same variety.

238\. Repeat

Over and over and over and over again, Wolfgeist kept prodding and pestering Morty both verbally and physically, each touch and each word sinking deep into the director who grew more agitated with every new annoyance, “I don’t enjoy this, but it has to be done for your own good,” several sharp pokes up his tail left a dull ache in his ectoplasm, “I’ll have to call in the Goobs who play cymbals if you aren’t providing any satisfactory results soon,” Wolfgeist jabbed at his face again, “I’m _trying_…!” Morty wailed.

239\. Success

In the end, Wolfgeist had opted to fetch the cymbals by himself, not bothering to warn Morty who by this point had his face buried in his hands before he crashed the plates together with force that proved to be the last straw to the overstrung director, who _snapped_ not with a violent explosion but with a sob, his form ripping itself apart to expose a frame so misshapen it was hard to identify as human, a vision that didn’t rattle Wolfgeist much nowadays, “Good, very good, try to keep that up a little longer, you can do it…!”

240\. Terrified

And keep it up Morty did, for whopping six seconds before what used to be Morty’s eye looked past Wolfgeist, catching something at the auditorium’s entrance that made the director flash back into his usual self in an instant, prompting Wolfgeist to look over his shoulder at what he’d seen; “...When did _you_ arrive?” Wolfgeist narrowed his eyes at Luigi who stood at the doors with one hand clutching the handle behind him, the plumber’s face blanched with a mixture of emotions.

241\. Newspaper

E. Gadd waddled throughout the lobby with a bent back, looking like a duck scanning the floor for breadcrumbs as he snatched up the shredded remains of the newspaper scattered all over the place, scrap by scrap and page by page; Polterpup may have destroyed it, but _by gum_, that wasn’t going to stop E. Gadd from reading the news.

242\. Outside

When color returned to Luigi’s face, the plumber immediately launched into action, pointing at Wolfgeist and then at the door behind him in quick succession, “...Can I have a word with you outside, Wolfgeist?” the pianist complied, and when Morty tried to follow Wolfgeist out with no clear idea of how to explain the situation, Luigi held up a hand; “_Please_, stay there,” something about Luigi’s firm yet gentle tone made Morty want to do as he was asked to.

243\. Spread

The storm raging outside didn’t look the least bit appealing as it pelted the windows with snow, the wind howling loud enough for it to audible even inside Luigi’s house; he’d rather stay buried under the comfortable blanket mountain he’d built himself, but eventually the need to stretch his limbs drove him to get up,_ perhaps Gooigi would want some exercise as well_, Luigi thought as he popped open the tank to help the goo out with a careful tilt, sending his partner spreading across the floor as a limp puddle that had no intentions of taking human form - _Gooigi certainly wasn’t a fan of the cold either_.

244\. Confrontation

Luigi crumbled the moment Wolfgeist shut the door behind him, his expression a blend of fear and anger as he hissed, barely able to keep his voice down, “What were you thinking, Wolfgeist? What could possibly warrant you to...” a shuddering inhale, “to… to push Morty into doing _that_ to himself?!” “I’ve said this to him at least a dozen times now, if I’m counting right, and I’m telling you as well: it’s for his own good” “Own g-- _How does that count as ‘his own good?!_” “I assure you that Morty agreed to it of his own volition”.

245\. Honesty

The plumber launched into another round of heated accusations and pleads for answers, which Wolfgeist listened to in silence without a hint of his usual irritation, letting Luigi get it all out before leading him further away from the doors for a bit of additional privacy to explain his actions; It was hard for Luigi to swallow the thought that maybe one day Luigi and Wolfgeist won’t be there to help out Morty, it was a _miracle_ in the first place that he’d never been caught, and to ensure that the director would be able to defend himself (_“By scaring hunters?!”_) would hopefully keep it that way.

246\. Missing

“...How long did it take to get used to not having legs anymore?” Luigi asked, softly stroking the tip of Morty’s tail that had curled around his arm as they watched a flick on Luigi’s couch; “Oh, I made peace with that in… hm,” he rubbed at the back of his neck, “...I’m not sure, to be perfectly honest, I haven’t paid it much thought”.

247\. Rivalry

Morty reached across the outdoor cafe table, about to take Luigi’s hand when a nasal shout made them both turn, “Luigi! I’m challenging you to a tennis match! You better be there three o’ clock sharp on Wednesday!” Waluigi stood poised on the other side of the street, shaking his fist at Luigi before stomping off; “Who was that?” Morty’s hand finally reached its destination on top of Luigi’s, “That’s Waluigi. I want to say there’s some friendly rivalry between us, but I think he takes it way more seriously,” Luigi answered with a sheepish smile.

248\. Five

A Hammer pulled E. Gadd out of the way before the chandelier came crashing down, mashing beneath it the boxes of equipment the professor had been moving before the light fixture had started to ominously creak above him, the impact sending metal and glass flying around that thankfully didn’t hit anyone; “You’ve saved my life, sonny! That could’ve been me!” E. Gadd nodded at the smashed boxes while expressing his gratitude with a handshake, “That had once been _me_, dude,” the Hammer laughed, and the two stared at each other in silence before they both broke into a grin and their hands met in a high-five.

249\. Look

When it had been the time to go home after they’d finished building the hotel even better than it had been before, everyone was out there at the front steps to wave a goodbye to Luigi and his family as they were boarding the bus, and right before it was Luigi’s turn the plumber had been struck by the need to turn around, to seek out a certain ghost in the crowd, visibly surprised at the realization that Morty was looking right back at him with a grin; the surprise was quick to melt into joy as Luigi returned the smile – _perhaps he was going to pay another visit to this place sooner than he’d planned_.

250\. Pride

Screams broke through the silence that loomed in the air, and soon enough a group of ghost hunters came bursting out of the abandoned house’s door, stumbling against one another in their rush to get as far as possible from the house and Morty after getting an eyeful of what a person looks like after getting crushed into mush; the director looked out of the window where Luigi and Wolfgeist had been keeping an eye on him outside, flashing them a relieved smile in his usual state - “I knew he could do it,” Wolfgeist was genuinely proud of his friend, and Luigi wished he could be too, it worked _but_ it was _awful_.


	11. 251-275

251\. Childhood

They all had good laughs over the tales of Luigi and Mario’s childhood that the green plumber had shared, but when Luigi had inquired them about stories of their own youth, the ghosts had gone silent, scratching at their cheek and looking at one another, expecting someone to speak out; their oldest memories were too vague to serve as bases for comprehensible stories.

252\. Laws

The more Luigi spent time with ghosts, the more he thought back to all the capturing he’d done for E. Gadd, what did… what did the law have to say about imprisoning souls of dead beings – the thought had weighed on his mind for ages before he’d gone to E. Gadd for answers; “They’re ghosts, Luigi,” E. Gadd had shrugged, squinting at the labels of various coffee cans spreads over the table,”no laws apply to them, the dead don’t have any rights in these lands, sonny”.

253\. Respect

“We’ve gathered here to--” loud booing coming from the back rows interrupted the man, and those curious enough to check behind to see where it was coming turned pale upon catching sight of a ghost; “Sir, could you show some respect to the deceased, this is a funeral”, “I know,” Clem guffawed, leaning back to chew on a toothpick, _“it’s mine”_.

254\. Hold

Ghosts didn’t think twice about tucking an item away into their own self, where it lay suspended in their ectoplasm for safekeeping, a fact Luigi quickly learned when he asked Steward to hold a hammer for him (_“Just a moment!”_) while he fetched some nails for the floor; a shudder ran through him when he returned and the helpful bellhop reached into his ghostly gut to return Luigi the ectoplasm-covered tool.

255\. Separation

It had all gone so fast: it felt like it had only been yesterday when Morty had asked Luigi to be part of his new movie, and now they were finished,_ he wasn’t prepared for this, he wasn’t prepared to leave Morty so soon_, and he couldn’t stop himself from entertaining the impossible idea that the director felt the same; Morty wasn’t putting any effort into releasing Luigi from the embrace he’d pulled him into in the middle of showering Luigi with praise and gratitude.

256\. Choose

Polterpup was _so so so_ excited, rapidly wagging his tail back and forth fast enough for it to become a blur as he considered all the choices before him, his focus jumping from _Luigi to Mario to Gooigi to Morty and… and…_ why would he choose _just one_ when he could play with all of them, he decided and leapt at Luigi who was in the middle of carefully setting down the next piece in the house of cards the group had been putting together.

257\. Jealousy

Luigi had never thought himself a jealous man, but catching Morty clasping the hands of other actors and leaning towards them – _close enough for their lips to almost touch_ – never failed to make Luigi’s heart race faster in his chest that felt much too tight to his liking; back then he wasn’t aware that Morty acted that way around everyone even when the ghost didn’t have any romantic intentions in mind.

258\. Scream

The others had suggested screaming as a safer alternative to his… _destructive_ ways of expressing anger, and so here Wolfgeist was, gripping the railing of the balcony hard enough to leave temporary imprints in the malleable ectoplasm; his head tilted back further and further _and_ further as he drew a long intake of breath he didn’t even need to snap forward to unleash a scream more befitting a pained beast than a cultured pianist, sending the birds nesting in the trees into frenzied flight – the raw ache the effort scratched into his throat left him feeling _alive_ but not any better.

259\. Kiss

“Luigi, my boy,” E. Gadd tapped a pencil at a clipboard holding various scraps filled with his musings, “could you tell me how it feels to kiss a ghost?”; “That’s private information…!” Luigi mumbled, turning a deep shade of red as the memories of those many occasions brought a hand up to caress his lower lip with his fingers.

260\. Coma

A week, Clem had been lying sprawled out on the lobby’s couch for _a week_ now, fingers crossed over his chest and his cap’s bill tucked down to prevent light from interrupting his long sleep; “...He’s not in coma, is he?” Luigi asks from Chambrea, who’s busy dusting the corner Clem has chosen as his resting place, sweeping the duster over the window sill, couch and _Clem_ as well before she answers, “Oh, no, not at all. There’s no need to worry, give him another week… or a few, and he should wake up… _I hope_. It’s not unusual for him to keep it up for _months_”.

261\. Fortune

He has to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating before taking another look at the portrait before him, of a beautiful ghost lady holding her hand up to her veiled mouth, as if she’s laughing behind it; Luigi had no idea E. Gadd had brought Madame Clairvoya to the hotel, to meet her again like this is rather bittersweet, and he wonders if the fortune-teller is dreaming within the safety of the canvas.

262\. Roses

It had taken ages of careful nurturing to help his rose bushes bloom, but it was very much worth it in the end, Dr. Potter decided, a rare gentle smile on his lips as he flew from bush to bush to admire their beauty – he’d gone for all the colors: red, blue, yellow, orange, pink, black, white, g-- no, not green ones - _an image of that insufferable plumber flashed in his mind’s eye_ \- that shade of green reminded him too much of _Luigi_.

263\. Portrait

Gooigi jerked his head back hard to do a double take, the whiplash sending his particles scrambling to keep his head attached to the rest of him, _that portrait_, Gooigi slapped his hands on the wall, his gooey limbs framing the alarm-inducing artwork of Luigi grinning at him from the canvas; _how did Luigi get in there, does E. Gadd know about this, he had to free h_\-- “I see you’ve already noticed my new addition, sonny! How do you like it? I thought a commissioned painting of Luigi would be perfect for my collection!” Gooigi turned back slowly to fix the laughing professor with the most deadpan expression he’d ever managed.

264\. Rainbow

“I’ve driven on a road made out of rainbow in space,” Luigi points at the vivid grand arch stretched across the horizon, “It was so cold out there, but the stars were beautiful”; Morty doesn’t dare to ask his poor star to elaborate on what he assumes is a near-death experience told in metaphors.

265\. Fluffy

With his head hung low and face buried in his hands, Wolfgeist’s current posture made for a pitiful sight, pushing Luigi to act on a need to comfort the ghost, but the pianist _hisses_ the second Luigi lays a hand in Wolfgeist’s wild hair with the intention to stroke it, startling the plumber into yanking away from him; he clearly wants to be alone but Luigi is too distracted by how _soft_ Wolfgeist’s hair felt even through his gloves to leave straight away.

266\. Ice

Neither of them have time to react when Luigi slips on the stairs coated in black ice, sweeping him off his feet and tumbling backwards right into – _splap_ – the director; Luigi blinks, staring up _at_ Morty _from_ Morty’s insides, and the director looks down to meets his eyes through _his ectoplasm_ with an equally bewildered expression before rushing to help him free – _on the bright side, at least he didn’t hit the ground_.

267\. World

Luigi had been all over the world, under the sea and in air, even in the vast depths of space, he’d seen and experienced events so outrageous many refused to believe him whenever he’d recount his tales to them; his adventures would always turn out fun once he’d get over his fears, but there’s still nowhere else he’d rather be than at home, _both_ of his homes: his own in Mushroom Kingdom, and the hotel haunted by his friends.

268\. Dream

_What sort of dreams is your muse guiding you through, do you remember them all_, Morty lifts the bill of Clem’s cap a little, _sometimes your expression turns troubled, but making it through a nightmare makes the next good dream all the more sweeter_; Morty backs away, observing the sleeping mechanic in silence, _I’d like to hear about all the dreams you recall when you return to us, yours tend to be very inspiring_.

269\. Writing

_Oh, this wasn’t working out, none of this was going as intended_, Morty snatched the stack of half-baked movie plans from the table, gripping it with both hands in a sad attempt to tear the offending papers in two at the same time, grunting as his arms trembled from the effort, succeeding to only wear himself out; he let the pile drop down on the table with a loud thud, _fine, he’ll get rid of it all the old-fashioned way_, and picked up the eraser.

270\. Pretend

If someone was to take a closer look at Steward, they would take note of the tight smile that failed to reach his eyes, one that faltered into a trembling line when he thought nobody was looking; it was starting to become increasingly difficult to keep up the act that he was _fine_ with his new boss who failed to utilize his skills, who had the _nerve_ to suggest that he should take a vacation – he had no time for such things, it wouldn’t be a proper hotel if there was no bellhop!

271\. Hello

_Is that_… Morty squints at the ghost imprisoned in a dome prison just two domes away from him, _it is_, his eyes widen in recognition, and he wastes no time to start knocking on his dome to catch Dr. Potter’s attention, gesturing at him to move aside to repeat the same pantomime circus with King MacFrights to have a perfect view of _him;_ Wolfgeist looks back at Morty, regarding the director’s enthusiastic waving with a raise of eyebrow before giving him the tiniest wave in return.

272\. Cd

The record store clerk pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the CD rack brimming with decades-old dance hits– _and cobwebs_ – that was tucked away in a dark corner like it was something shameful, and DJ Phantasmagloria squealed as she rushed to check out the goods; disco might’ve been dead, but tonight it would be _alive_ in her dance hall.

273\. Ghost

Morty’s crew reacted with fright when they saw what their director had become after the accident, shrieking and clinging to each other as one of them pointed at Morty, “Y-you’re…! You are…!” “Yes, it appears I’ve become a ghost,” Morty’s mood was rather cheerful despite the morbid situation, “Yeah, but… you’ve gone _bald!_” - the director‘s hand slipped under his hat to verify the claim, “…_That’s what scared you the most?_”

274\. Fault

Three weeks later Clem finally wakes up, absolute bursting with energy as he’s zipping and zooming around to point at everyone hanging around in the lobby in an uncharacteristic display of speed, “You were in my dreams! And you, you, you, and you, and...” when Clem gets to Luigi, he pauses, expression turning sour, “...you were there too, and you were actin’ pretty ugly to me in it” - “H-how is that my fault?” Luigi cries, appalled.

275\. Thunder

His star loves thunderstorms, guaranteed he gets to enjoy them from the inside without going out, leaning against the window sill to follow the drumming of rain against the windows, counting seconds between the flashes and thunder under his breath; whenever a thunder strikes close, Luigi would turn to grin at Morty over his shoulder, excitement making his eyes glow with crackles of electricity – oh, _his star, his thunder_, was so endearing.


	12. 276-300

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm fully aware that there's already too many chapters of this, but I just had to write more.

276\. Hill

“Are you ready to go?” there was a slight tremble to Luigi’s voice as his eyes darted around Tomorrow Hill, searching for signs of aliens - “Just one more photo...” _click_, “there, now we can return, it’s a shame there are no extra terrestrials present, but we can still build a proper movie out of the material we’ve gathered” ; once the two were a good distance away from the hill, a shaking alien poked its head out of the foliage of the hill’s lone tree, _nobody told me there would be ghosts in here, somebody, please come pick me up already_…!

277\. Sordid

The professor never averted his gaze from a series of absolutely miserable looking portraits whenever he passed by them; he considered his method of trapping ghosts to be an act of lesser evil compared to his colleagues who had more inhumane ways of keeping spirits contained.

278\. Mirror

A scream pierced the silence of the closed Hotel Shops, followed by the crash of shattered glass; the barista ghost rushed to the scene only to be greeted by the sight of Kruller nursing an aching hand, the floor below him littered with the remains of a shattered mirror - “I… I got startled by my own reflection,” came the mall cop’s sheepish confession.

279\. Hands

Morty held Luigi’s bare hand in his, meticulously tracing the edges of the plumber’s fingernails with his thumb, humming; “What’re you thinking about?” Luigi allowed the director to peel off his remaining glove as well - “My star, I hadn’t realized until now that I miss having nails”, Morty discarded the other glove, “they make it all the more easier to pry things open”.

280\. Loyalty

The bellhop had a strange need to make Wolfgeist happy; at first he assumed he had developed loyalty towards the pianist, but those rare smiles and accidental brushes of their hands filled him with something that was leagues above what he’d felt while serving Hellen, leading to a conclusion that made him drop his luggage with a loud clatter: _what he felt wasn’t loyalty_.

281\. Mistake

Sometimes the questions E. Gadd would blurt out were so blunt and callous that even the professor himself would have to take a moment to let it register just what he’d asked from a ghost to make the spectre look at him with wide eyes, trembling as they faded into the safety of invisibility to flee the room – _why couldn’t he think more before opening his big mouth?_

282\. Wrecked

_Not now, not now, he can’t give up now, the film’s almost ready_, Morty clung to his equipment as the merciless vacuum consumed more and more of his lower body, a weak “_sorry_” mumbled behind him the only warning he got before Luigi yanked, sending the director flying through the air before he crashed to the floor face first, the sensation exploding behind his eyes somewhat resembling _pain: how could his star be so cruel?_

283\. Choking

It had started with a raspy hack here and a crackling wheeze there in the middle of a card game until Clem was trapped in a serious coughing fit, doubling over to beat his chest with a fist while the other hand clawed at his throat as if he was struggling to breathe; Luigi was about to leap over the table to help when the coughs turned sickeningly _wet_, and then Clem’s invisible lungs were expelling _water_ all over the table – Clem’s relief at feeling fine again turned into annoyance within seconds, _he’d ruined a perfectly good set of cards._

284\. Naked

“This is as naked as we can get, isn’t it?” Morty’s question nearly made Wolfgeist spill his tea, “Pardon?” - “When you think about it, we are bearing our souls to the world, and we’re doing it literally, letting everyone see our real selves without bodies or clothes in the way,” Morty mused, “doesn’t that make you feel vulnerable?” _vulnerable, no,_ but self-conscious enough to make the pianist tug his suit further down to cover himself up more.

285\. Child

One minute Luigi is clapping at the triplets’ marvelous performance, the next he’s left blinking away tears blurring his vision after a sudden realization: they were _ghost_ kids – it wasn’t fair at all that they’d lost their lives at such a young age.

286\. Different

A thought comes to Luigi one day as he looks at Morty nuzzling him in his sleep,_ I really did end up catching Morty, didn’t I,_ but not with his usual capture tactics; instead of relying on Poltergust, he’d brought the ghost to him with words, actions and love, the same ghost who had caught his heart first at the studio on _that_ night – _what they had was a relationship neither of them had any intentions of escaping._

287\. Stubborn

_Stubborn,_ Morty’s attention was caught once again by the Dry Bones who’d got a role in his new film, _both of them had been stubborn when it had came to their deaths:_ Morty’s soul had refused to rest in peace, while the Koopa’s soul continued to nest in his remains to stay on the mortal plane even when his body had gone bare from all organic matter.

288\. Challenge

Clem tore through water like a dolphin, reaching the other side of the pool within seconds while Johnny was still far behind him; “Better luck next time, Johnny boy,” Clem grinned, turning his attention to Luigi who had witnessed the race, wanting to know how Clem could have… have, _you know what_, if he was so good at swimming - “I didn’t know _how_ back then’,” he looked over his shoulder at Johnny moaning about his loss, “so I reckoned, hey, I might as well learn now that I don’t have to worry about drownin’ again”.

289\. Unusual

His eyes slipped shut as he began to play, allowing his delicate tunes to paint vibrant sceneries in his mind full of blooming flower fields basking under a pleasant summer day’s sun, with… _a pause,_ and he resumed, with Steward resting among the plant life with a smile that rivaled the sun; _how unusual,_ Wolfgeist thought, he’d never expected to see others in his imaginary landscapes – it was entirely the fault of his crush,_ after all_, he hadn’t expected to develop feelings like that towards anyone, either.

290\. Tear

At times Luigi would hesitate to take Morty’s hand due to the memories of the Polterkitty fight haunting his thoughts - he’d ripped off a tail _after_ a tail _after_ a tail with the Poltergust, something he hadn’t given much thought about back then, but now he couldn’t stop dwelling on it; what if he was to accidentally tear Morty into pieces like that as well?

291\. Mad

What Dr. Potter had intended to be a relaxing trip to a flower shop far away from the hotel had turned sour once he spotted a customer in there who was tall and purple-clad and reminded him enough of _Luigi_ to make him scowl at the other man, who in turn scowled back at him, sparking a furious exchange of mean looks between the two through the shelves, over the tables and around the plants they were checking out; if they had taken the opportunity to talk to each other, a beautiful friendship could have blossomed over their mutual hatred for Luigi.

292\. Blood

Morty would gleefully splatter fake blood all over the sets of horror movies, but when it came to dealing with real blood – _blood_ that was dripping from Luigi’s finger after a little mishap with cutting vegetables, he’d momentarily shut down from the shock, requiring a moment to snap out of it and fetch that first-aid kit, _fast_.

293\. Lunch-box

There was no denying that the findings he’d made so far at the nearby graveyard were fascinating, but a small break was in order, _oh_, E. Gadd couldn’t wait to tuck into the lunch he’d packed himself into this… box that felt… _huh, unusually heavy, why was th--_ the box blasted open with a loud bang as Polterpup emerged out of it, startling a shriek out of the professor; the dog sprinted away from the scene of the crime, licking its lips, leaving the professor alone with the empty container and questions such as _how, when, and why?_

294\. Games

Luigi had prepared for the worst when he and Morty bumped into Wario on the streets of Diamond City, but the conversation they had turned out surprisingly well, up until the point when Wario mentioned his games, bringing the talk into a screeching halt: “Why would I pay my employees?” - Morty turned his head towards Wario at a slow, agonizing pace with an expression that didn’t bode well, and with a quick ‘oh-look-at-the-time-we-gotta-go-now-bye-nice-to-see-you’ Luigi dragged Morty away with him before the director could verbally tear Wario apart.

295\. Comfort

“Sir…?” Steward floats towards the hunched over figure sitting on the stage, “I’ve got your coffee here, where should I put it…?” the bellhop has no idea what had set Wolfgeist off this time, but it must’ve been _bad_ if it had made Wolfgeist smash his piano against the back wall – Wolfgeist peels one hand off his face to point a long finger next to him, and Steward set the cup there with a little clink; “Will you be alright, sir…?” had Steward not been so tense over the situation, he would’ve noticed the way the pianist’s shoulders gradually relaxed in his presence, “...I will, thank you, Steward”.

296\. Paradise

The Boilerworks was cramped, dim, and damp and filled with tons of water and steam and mice _and it was absolutely perfect_, Clem’s own slice of paradise away from the brightly lit and nauseatingly open spaces on the floors above, and he had zero intentions of moving out of there.

297\. Zombies

The Dry Bones pretends to be invested in the script in its hands, directing its glowing eyes at the director whenever Morty’s distracted, unaware of their mutual fascination with each other – would it be possible for the Koopa to live on as a ghost (they had so many perks!) if it figured out a way to sever the bond between its body and soul without ascending to a higher plane?

298\. Stone

The professor had brought in a new addition to the Unnatural History Museum, a model based on the speculations of what if dinosaurs had feathers; a few minutes later the Unnatural History Museum had lost its newest addition after Ug hurtled a giant stone at it, accompanying it with the – _surprisingly understandable_ – words, “Ug no like that one”.

299\. Relationships

A wistful sigh escaped Steward when Luigi and Morty returned to the hotel from their trip to Diamond City, _hand in hand, fingers laced_, a contact that made Steward yearn for what they had.

300\. Idea

The alien movie could wait; right now, Morty had a documentary to make about the harsh practices of the video game industry, all thanks to a - _“Was that your cousin?” “I have no idea how he’s related to me, actually”_ \- man who denied his employees the pay they deserved.


End file.
